The European Union’s foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, confirmed on Monday that the Israeli military operation in Gaza has turned the Strip into an “open cemetery.”
“Before the war, Gaza was an open prison. Today it has become the largest open cemetery,” Borrell said during a meeting of European Union ministers in Brussels.
He added, “It is a cemetery for tens of thousands of people, and it is also a cemetery for many of the most important principles of humanitarian law.”
Borrell repeated Israel’s accusation of using famine as a “weapon of war” by not allowing aid trucks to enter the Gaza Strip.
“Israel is causing famine,” he said at a conference of humanitarian organizations.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz responded to Borrell, calling on him to “stop attacking Israel and recognize our right to defend ourselves in the face of Hamas’ crimes.”
Katz wrote on the “X” platform that “Israel allows the entry of large humanitarian aid into Gaza by land, air and sea by anyone who wants to help.”
The Gaza war broke out after an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, which led to the killing of about 1,160 people, the majority of whom were civilians, according to an Agence France-Presse count based on official Israeli sources.
Israel estimates that about 130 hostages are still being held in Gaza, including 33 believed dead, out of about 250 people kidnapped in the Hamas attack. And
A week-long truce in November allowed the release of 105 hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinian detainees from Israeli prisons.
In response to the attack, Israel pledged to “eliminate” Hamas and has since launched an intense campaign of bombing and devastating raids, followed by a ground attack, which led to the death of 31,726 people, the vast majority of whom were women, boys and children, according to the latest tally of the Ministry of Health in the Hamas government.
The European Union worked hard to unify the ranks of its countries regarding the Gaza war, as some of its countries strongly support Israel, while others follow a more supportive approach to the Palestinians.
The bloc’s ministers are scheduled to discuss a proposal submitted by Ireland and Spain to suspend a cooperation agreement with Israel, but it is unlikely that the move will gain the support of all 27 countries.
However, it is likely that the bloc will agree on sanctions against Hamas, on the one hand, against the backdrop of accusations of sexual violence suspected of being committed on October 7 against Israeli settlers in the West Bank, who are accused of attacking Palestinians, on the other hand.
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