REVISES HEADLINE, LEDE AND DECK, ADDS STATEMENTS FROM BORRELL, LENARCIC
By Gizem Nisa Cebi
ISTANBUL (AA) - The European Union’s foreign policy chief and its commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis management warned Sunday over escalating violence in the Middle East and a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
"Yesterday was one of the deadliest days since October, with at least 100 Palestinians reportedly killed," Josep Borrell said on X, referring to the Israel-Hamas war.
Borrell said the situation remains dire as Israelis and foreigners are still being held captive in Gaza and the risk of a full-blown conflict involving the Lebanese Hezbollah group looms large.
"A spillover in Lebanon would seriously impact the region and beyond," he cautioned, noting that in the West Bank, the economic situation is on the brink of "collapse" and "violence is intensifying."
Borrell also condemned the "blatant disregard for International Court of Justice (ICJ) rulings and UN Security Council Resolution 2735," and noted the lack of "improvement on humanitarian access and delivery."
"I’m dismayed by reports of World Food Program's Cindy McCain and World Health Organization on humanitarian access still hindered," he added.
A UN human rights report documented "disproportionate and indiscriminate attacks," while "the Red Cross’s premises have been damaged by shelling," Borrell said.
He concluded with a plea: "We urge all parties once again to stop this cycle of suffering and destruction."
Later, Borrell and Commissioner Janez Lenarcic issued a joint statement highlighting the dire situation.
"The crisis in Gaza has reached another breaking point. The delivery of any meaningful humanitarian assistance inside Gaza has become almost impossible and the very fabric of civil society is unravelling," it said.
The statement also underscored that despite "the announcement of temporary 'tactical pauses' for delivering humanitarian assistance," there has been no "improvement in the security environment" for aid workers on the ground.
"Sending aid without access to and within Gaza is futile," it added, noting the accumulation of EU-funded assistance "at the borders of Egypt and Jordan."
Borrell and Lenarcic reiterated their call for all parties to uphold their international legal responsibilities.
"We call for an immediate cease-fire, the unconditional release of hostages, the protection of civilians, including humanitarian workers, and concerted action to facilitate the delivery of life-saving assistance to the population of Gaza."
Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 attack last year by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.
More than 37,500 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and nearly 86,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.
More than eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.