Abela insists EU must call for immediate Gaza ceasefire
Prime Minister Robert Abela yesterday urged a summit meeting of EU leaders to issue a call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, insisting that providing humanitarian assistance was simply not enough.
Abela spoke at a lunch that EU leaders hosted for the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, marking the opening of their meeting.
Shortages of food and water were wake-up call
Abela praised the UN Secretary General for his pronouncements about the war in Gaza and his defence of humanity, despite criticism which he had attracted to himself.
The appalling death toll and shortages of food and water in Gaza were a wake-up call for the European Council which had not yet called for an immediate ceasefire, although there was now movement in that direction, Abela said.
Malta, he said, would continue to insist that the council should call for an immediate
and permanent ceasefire. It was good that EU funds were used to supply humanitarian aid, but the EU should also insist on a stop to the fighting.
Meanwhile the United States has circulated for the first time a draft UN resolution calling
for an “immediate” ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, as warnings grow of famine in besieged Gaza.
Washington had blocked previous UN Security Council texts using the word “immediate” but US top diplomat Antony
Blinken confirmed the shift in position on Wednesday.
The Israeli bombardment of Gaza continued overnight with the health ministry in the Hamasrun territory saying at least 70 people had been killed, pushing the overall toll towards 32,000.