Nearly 150,000 displaced in Gaza due to Israeli escalation: EU official

By Ahmet Kartal

BRUSSELS (AA) - European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Tuesday that the latest Israeli escalation in the Israel-Palestine conflict has caused the displacement of nearly 150,000 people in the Gaza Strip.

In a press statement following an informal meeting of foreign ministers of EU member states, Borrell stressed that the humanitarian situation in Gaza requires more support.

“Israel has the right to defend (itself), but it has to be done according to the right of international law, humanitarian law,” he said.

He noted that the number of casualties in Gaza is increasing, adding “150,000 people are internally displaced, and the humanitarian situation is dire.”

Borrell pointed out that the ministers agreed on the condemnation of terrorist attacks and the condemnation of “any attack against civilians.”

The EU ministers also reiterated their positions on “the release of hostages; protection of civilians; respect of international humanitarian law - and it means no blockage of water, food, or electricity to the civil population in Gaza; open humanitarian corridors; to facilitate people who have to escape the bombing from Gaza.”

The Palestinian Hamas group launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel early Saturday, firing a barrage of rockets and infiltrating Israel by land, sea and air. It said the surprise attack was in response to the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and growing settler violence against Palestinians.

In retaliation, the Israeli military launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in Gaza has risen to 900, including at least 260 children and 200 women, the Gaza-based Health Ministry said Tuesday. It said the number of wounded has risen to over 4,500.

At least 1,200 Israelis have been killed and over 2,806 others wounded in the fighting, according to the Israeli Health Ministry.

Israel has also cut water and electricity supplies to Gaza, worsening the blockaded enclave’s already dire humanitarian situation.

Home to nearly 2.2 million people, the Gaza Strip has already been reeling under a crippling Israeli siege since 2007.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi