EU calls ‘intolerable’ indiscriminate shelling on Gaza

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) - The European Union on Tuesday called indiscriminate shelling of the Gaza Strip “intolerable,” and urged Israel to prevent civilian causalities.

The escalating conflict between Israel and Palestine “is a source of concern for the European Union,” Peter Stano, the lead spokesperson of the EU diplomatic service, told journalists in Brussels.

“It is unacceptable to see indiscriminate rocket fire from Gaza,” he added.

The spokesperson stressed that Israel must “take precautions and all the possible measures to prevent civilian casualties in its operations and uphold international humanitarian law.”

Stano repeated the EU’s call on both parties to “exercise maximum restraint.”

He reaffirmed the EU’s backing for the relaunch of the Middle East Peace process in order to reach a sustainable political solution instead of temporary cease-fires.

At least 25 people died and 76 others were injured in Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip over the past two days, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The Israeli army launched airstrikes as part of a counter-offensive after rockets were fired from Gaza following the death of a Palestinian inmate, who was on a hunger strike in an Israeli prison.