EU leaders urge immediate humanitarian pause in Gaza
The EU’s 27 leaders called on Thursday for an “immediate humanitarian pause” in Gaza and urged Israel not to launch a major ground offensive in the southernmost city of Rafah.
“Strong and unified statement of EU leaders on the Middle East at #EUCO tonight!” Charles Michel, the president of the council, posted on social media platform X.
“The European Council calls for an immediate humanitarian pause leading to a sustainable ceasefire,” the leaders said after meeting in Brussels, while also calling for “the unconditional release of all hostages.”
The Council “urges the Israeli government not to undertake a ground operation in Rafah, which would worsen the already catastrophic humanitarian situation and prevent the urgently needed provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance,” they added in their conclusions. More than a million Palestinians are “currently seeking safety from the fighting and access to humanitarian assistance there”, the leaders noted.
The European Union has struggled for a united response on Israel’s military operation following the October 7 attack by Hamas.
There have been mounting warnings of the risk of famine in Gaza, and the leaders called for “full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access into” Gaza.
The leaders were “deeply concerned about the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and its disproportionate effect on civilians, particularly children, as well as the imminent risk of famine caused by the insufficient entry of aid into Gaza.”
The bloodiest-ever Gaza war broke out after Hamas’s unprecedented attacks resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Militants also seized about 250 hostages. Israel believes 130 remain in Gaza, including 33 who are presumed dead.
Vowing to eliminate Hamas, Israel has relentlessly pounded Gaza where at least 31,988 people, most of them women and children, have been killed, the health ministry in the Hamasrun territory says.
The United States will bring a UN draft resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an Israel-Hamas hostage deal to a
Security Council vote on Friday morning, a US spokesperson said.
The latest version of the draft resolution, seen by Reuters, says an “immediate and sustained ceasefire” lasting roughly six weeks would protect civilians and allow for the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
The resolution “unequivocally supports ongoing international diplomatic efforts to secure such a ceasefire in connection with the release of all remaining hostages,” it reads, referring to ongoing talks brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar.
Nate Evans, spokesperson for the US mission to the United Nations, said on Thursday that the 15-member council would vote on Friday morning on the text negotiated in “many rounds of consultations” with Security Council members.
To pass, a resolution needs at least nine votes and no vetoes by the US, France, Britain, Russia or China. The US has wanted any Security Council support for a ceasefire to be linked to the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.