Swiss foreign minister’s Gaza remarks provoke strong reactions

Food distribution "a trap that kills people", says UNRWA head. Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

Swiss foreign minister Ignazio Cassis has been accused by several parliamentarians of repeating Israeli propaganda and distorting facts after he jointly condemned Israel and Hamas for the situation in Gaza.

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Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) also told Swiss public broadcaster RTS about reality on the ground in Gaza.

Citing Swiss neutrality, Cassis refused to join a groundswell of international criticism levelled mainly at Israel, saying “there is a violation of international law on the part of both sides.”

+ ‘Both sides must be condemned’ in Gaza: Swiss foreign minister

Some Swiss parliamentarians were annoyed by this approach. “I find it rather risky to equate some 40,000 Palestinian deaths with 50 Israeli hostages,” Centre Party politician Vincent Maitre told RTS.

“Without grading the atrocity, because both are obviously unacceptable, I find it very difficult to compare the acts of a terrorist organisation with the military actions of a democratic state.”

Heated debate

Green Party member Léonore Porchet said: “I am outraged. The statements are not far from the official propaganda of Israel, which denies the ongoing genocide. Switzerland must do better.”

“We must focus on providing access to humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza. I expect the government to put pressure on Israel to make this happen,” said Swiss People’s Party parliamentarian Piero Marchesi, who recently left the Swiss-Israeli parliamentary group, which he found too partisan.

+ Gaza faces famine risk, warn humanitarian groups

Social Democratic Party senator Carlo Sommaruga added his voice to the criticism. “Whether consciously or unconsciously, Ignazio Cassis is delivering information based on an alternative truth that only helps Israel, rather than participating with the international community in defending international law and justice for the Palestinian people.”

Cassis was mainly supported by representatives of his own Radical Party. “What do you want to do? Do you want to praise Hamas and forget about the hostages, some of whom are dead and some of whom have been held captive since October 7, 2023?” said parliamentarian Philippe Nantermod.

“Atrocities can only stop if the parties come to the negotiating table. A neutral state like Switzerland must remind each of the parties of their obligations.”

Fatal shooting

“If we summarise what Ignazio Cassis said, there is criticism on both sides. Let’s move on, let’s negotiate peace,” said fellow Radical Party member Pascal Broulis.

Speaking to RTS about the fatal shooting of 27 people in Gaza earlier this week while food was being distributed, Cassis said it is impossible to know for sure who was responsible.

But UNRWA head Lazzarini called the food distribution system “a trap that kills people”.

“People don’t know if they’ll come back alive. There have been three fatal incidents. Our General Secretariat has called for an independent international investigation precisely to establish the facts.”

Lazzarini has called for the region to be fully opened to the international media and refuted Cassis’s hope that the release of all Israeli hostages would guarantee a ceasefire.

“There will be a new chapter once the hostages are freed. Will there be a military occupation? Will there be reconstruction of the Gaza Strip? We’re calling not only for a ceasefire and the release of the hostages, but also for decent humanitarian aid to Gaza.”

Adapted from French by DeepL/mga

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