UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS BY EU FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF, BELGIUM'S FOREIGN MINISTER; EDITS THROUGH
By Nur Asena Erturk
The situation in Gaza, where Israel has continued its military offensive since last October, has become "incommensurable," the EU foreign policy chief said on Monday.
Josep Borrell, at the doorstep of the EU’s foreign affairs council meeting in Brussels, deplored the death of over 100 Palestinians in the latest Israeli attacks over the weekend, which he described as "one of the bloodiest days."
He reiterated support for the cease-fire backed by US President Joe Biden, but said it may not be implemented due to a "lack of will from both sides."
"But we will continue supporting this kind of ideas, because we need desperately a cease-fire that could allow humanitarian help to enter into Gaza, otherwise, the tragedy will be incommensurable. Well, it is already incommensurable," Borrell said.
He reiterated that the delivery of humanitarian assistance in the blockaded enclave has become "impossible."
Israel has killed more than 37,500 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas incursion. Vast tracts of the territory lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.
Borrell also explained that there was a risk of spillover in Lebanon, and said: "I am more worried, much more worried."
Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in border fighting since the start of the Gaza conflict. The tensions have recently escalated, with both sides saying they are ready to go to war.
Belgium’s Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib said, for her part, that the EU must take all the measures to force the parties to stop hostilities.
"We absolutely must progress on a peace process, and on talks that must lead to the implementation of the two-state solution," Lahbib stressed.
- War in Ukraine
Borrell emphasized that while many countries gathered in Switzerland to discuss diplomatic solutions to the war in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s "answer" was to travel to North Korea and "everywhere where he can get arms," since he is "clearly preparing for a long war."
The bloc’s foreign policy chief also said they must increase the support for Ukraine.
"We have these revenues coming from the frozen assets, and we have to look for a way in order to use them, avoiding any kind of blockage," he explained, and added that the first tranche would be paid next week, and the second "some months later."