Situation in Gaza is 'man-made humanitarian catastrophe': EU foreign policy chief

By Nur Asena Erturk

The situation in Gaza is a "man-made humanitarian catastrophe," said the European Union's foreign policy chief on Monday.

Speaking at the 25th EU-NGO Forum on Human Rights in Brussels, Josep Borrell pledged to push for the release of all hostages in the Middle East, to put an end to this "man-made humanitarian catastrophe," to look for a solution for the day after, and to stop illegal settlements and aggression in the West Bank.

Borrell also said: "One has the right to criticize the government of the state of Israel without being qualified as antisemitic. I can disagree of how a government behaves without being qualified as being anti-something."

Israel resumed its military offensive on the Gaza Strip on Friday after the end of a weeklong humanitarian pause with the Palestinian group Hamas.

At least 15,899 Palestinians have been killed and more than 42,000 others injured in relentless air and ground attacks on the enclave since Oct. 7 following a cross-border attack by Hamas.

The Israeli death toll in the Hamas attack stood at 1,200, according to official figures