Japan’s Nagasaki snubs Israel: No invite to peace ceremony, calls for truce in Gaza

The annual peace ceremony in Nagasaki has not yet sent an invitation to the Israeli ambassador to Japan, according to city officials, who instead wrote the embassy a letter urging a truce in Gaza.

This week, dozens of nations and territories were invited by the southern Japanese city to a ceremony on August 9, the anniversary of the US nuclear assault that killed 74,000 people in 1945.

However, as for Israel, "we have put sending an invitation letter on hold... as the situation is changing day by day," mayor Shiro Suzuki told reporters on Monday.

About eight months ago, Israel launched a brutal military operation in Gaza in response to an attack on the nation by the Palestinian militant group Hamas. According to Suzuki, pro-Palestine protests disrupting the memorial for atomic bomb victims are partly behind the decision.

“Given the critical humanitarian situation in Gaza, and public opinion in the international community, there are concerns about the risk of unexpected incidents during the ceremony,” he said.

“As the Ukraine situation has not changed, we are not inviting Russia or Belarus” either, Suzuki added.