European Union foreign ministers made a plea on Tuesday, imploring Israel not to disrupt the provision of water, food, or electricity to Gaza.
The EU’s foreign policy chief stated that the European Union has also advocated for the creation of humanitarian routes for individuals seeking to leave the area.
The EU’s foreign policy chief stated that the European Union has also advocated for the creation of humanitarian routes for individuals seeking to leave the area.
Anxiety over a possible regional escalation has risen with the anticipation of an upcoming Israeli ground operation in Gaza, the densely populated enclave from which Hamas launched its assault via land, air, and sea on Saturday.
The death toll in Israel has climbed above 900 due to the nation’s most severe attack in its 75-year history, while Gaza authorities have registered 765 casualties to date. Israel’s military also confirmed the identification of nearly 1,500 militant bodies.
The European ministers insisted on the need for ‘respect of international humanitarian law and it means no blockage of water, food or electricity to the civil population in Gaza’, top diplomat Josep Borrell said, as quoted by AFP.
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‘Israel has the right to defend but it has to be done accordingly with international law, humanitarian law, and some decisions are contrary to this international law,’ Borrell told journalists in Oman’s capital Muscat.
He said the EU meeting called for ‘humanitarian corridors to facilitate people who have to escape the bombing of Gaza’ across the border to Egypt.
Borrell noted that, despite conflicting statements from Brussels regarding their financial assistance, an “overwhelming majority” of EU nations are against the suspension of aid to the Palestinian Authority.
‘Not all the Palestinian people are terrorists,’ he said.
‘A collective punishment against all Palestinians will be unfair, and unproductive. It will be against our interest and against the interest of peace.’
Borrell said that there will not be an increased need for humanitarian assistance for Gaza.
‘The fact is that at the moment the casualties in Gaza are also increasing, 150,000 people are internally displaced and the humanitarian situation is dire,’ Borrell said.
‘So we will have to support more, not less, more.’
Brussels clarified remarks made by EU neighbourhood commissioner Oliver Varhelyi, retracting his initial statement that the bloc was swiftly suspending all payments to the Palestinians.
An urgent review has been initiated by the EU’s executive arm to assess whether any of the funds have inadvertently gone towards financing Hamas.
Both the Israeli foreign minister and his Palestinian counterpart were offered an opportunity to speak at the EU meeting, but they both declined, according to Borrell.