Future of Gaza concerns entire Middle East: EU foreign policy chief

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) – The future of the embattled Gaza Strip concerns the entire Middle East, said the EU foreign policy chief on Monday.

On the destruction and catastrophic situation brought by ongoing Israel attacks on the besieged enclave, Josep Borrell told reporters on the Egyptian side of the Rafah Crossing into Gaza: “Certainly we have to avoid … Gaza becoming a new Mogadishu, a Mogadishu in the Mediterranean, or a new Haiti, aligned without law and order, abandoned to the gangs, to the violence of people.”

It is the security and stability of the whole region, including Israel, which is at stake, he added.

As such, Borrell stressed, the Palestinian administration should be supported to restore law and order in Gaza.

On the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, he underlined that only a tiny percentage of Gazans in need are getting aid as crossings remain closed due to Israel.

“Today, 1,400 trucks (are) waiting to enter. And in a good day, maybe 50 will come in. In (the Muslim holy month of) Ramadan time, they were 600 per day. This is a drop in the ocean of needs on the other side (of the crossing),” Borrell said.

Against this background, he repeated his call for reopening the crossing for the conditions in Gaza to improve.

- 'I don't know why no cease-fire has been reached'

Borrell also stressed that a cease-fire is urgently needed for further steps to be able to be taken on Gaza, including deploying staff by the EU and other concerned parties.

On efforts to reach a cease-fire deal, he said: “We can put our political and diplomatic pressure on Israel authorities, but our capacity is limited. We do what we can. The US also is doing what we can, but something goes wrong here. I don't understand why the cease-fire has still not been reached. Someone is procrastinating.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been widely accused – including by many in Israel – of deliberately holding back a deal as he sees the ongoing war as necessary for his political survival.

Earlier Monday, Borrell was received by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo.

Announcing that he and al-Sisi discussed the ongoing war in Gaza and the need to prevent further escalation, Borrell said on X: "The EU and Egypt are strategic partners at all levels – from economic development to achieving peace across the region.”

Despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire, Israel has continued its relentless offensive on the Gaza Strip, which so far killed nearly 41,000 Palestinians, following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on last Oct. 7.

An ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel faces accusations of genocide for its actions in Gaza at the International Court of Justice.