EU’s Borrell says ‘very survival’ of population in Gaza at stake

By Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Wednesday that the “very survival of the population in” the Gaza Strip hangs in the balance.

“We need to act,” Borrell said before meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the State Department. “We need to clear the humanitarian access through sea, by air – that’s good. That’s not enough.”

“You cannot replace hundreds of trucks by sending parachutes. The most important thing is to open the borders by land and continue working – or start working on the two-state solution that both of us, US and EU, endorse,” he said.

“It is the only way for a lasting peace. I hope that we can join our efforts in order to make that a reality,” he added.

Blinken said he and Borrell would discuss support for Ukraine, the crisis in the Middle East and in Gaza, issues related to the Western Balkans and relations with China.

The meeting is being held after Borrell accused Israel of obstructing the delivery of aid and using starvation as a “weapon of war” in Gaza.

Addressing the UN Security Council on Tuesday in New York, Borrell said: "There is a humanitarian crisis, which is not a natural disaster.”

“It is man-made. When we look for alternative ways of providing support by sea or by air, we have to remind that we have to do it because the natural way of providing support through road is being closed, artificially closed. Starvation is being used as a war arm," he added.

Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on Gaza since Oct. 7, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

According to local health authorities, around 31,200 Palestinians have been killed in the war against Gaza, most of them women and children, and more than 72,900 others have been injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli onslaught has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.