Hamas leader's death 'should mark turning point' in Mideast conflict: EU foreign policy chief

By Nur Asena Erturk

ANKARA (AA) – The death of the Hamas leader "should mark a turning point" in the Middle East conflict, the European Union’s foreign policy chief said Friday.

Josep Borrell in a blog post warned that the region is “on the brink of an all-out war," and that "the death of Yahya Sinwar should mark a turning point at a moment when a new cycle of violence is engulfing the entire Middle East."

On Thursday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Sinwar's killing in Gaza, threatening that "the war is not over yet." The Israeli military later confirmed that his death in Gaza occurred "by chance."

Earlier on Friday, Hamas, through its official Khalil al-Hayya, confirmed the death of Yahya Sinwar, saying he was a "hero who fought the Israeli forces until his last breath."

Borrell called on the EU to work on five points, including humanitarian assistance to Gaza, and efforts to find a political solution to the issue.

"Almost everything that makes a society function has been reduced to rubble," he stated, referring to the Gaza Strip and its lack of basic needs such as food and medicine.

"There is a right to self-defence, but there is no right to revenge," he said, slamming Israel’s strikes on civilians and adding that Israel is "replicating this conduct of the war in the West Bank and Lebanon."

"The disproportionate manner in which Israel has been operating in Gaza does not bode well for the protection of civilians in the West Bank and Lebanon. It has to stop," he noted.

Borrell lashed out at Israel for attacking UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, stressing that "no military action can bring a safe future to the people of the region."

Israel injured United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeepers in a series of attacks last week, eliciting international condemnation for deliberate attacks on UN troops that violated international law.

"With the shelling of UNFIL units – and wounding of four soldiers - the Israel Defence Forces have crossed a red line, he said. In the future, UNIFIL should be given a stronger mandate to ensure peace at the border," he stated.

UNIFIL was established in March 1978 to confirm Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon and assist the Lebanese government in restoring authority in the area. Its mandate has been expanded over the years, particularly after the 2006 Israeli-Hezbollah war, to monitor cease-fires and facilitate humanitarian aid.

Borrell also urged Israel to "withdraw from Lebanese territory."

Israel dramatically escalated its massive bombing campaign across Lebanon against what it claims are Hezbollah targets since Sept. 23, killing more than 1,500 people, injuring over 4,500 others, and displacing more than 1 million people.

The aerial campaign is an escalation from a year of cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of its offensive on the Gaza Strip, in which Israel has killed at least 42,500 people, most of them women and children, since a Hamas attack last year.

Despite international warnings that the Middle East was on the brink of a regional war amid Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, on Oct. 1 it expanded the conflict by launching an incursion into southern Lebanon.