UPDATE - EU foreign ministers in Brussels to discuss situation in Middle East, Ukraine

UPDATES WITH MORE QUOTES FROM FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER, ADDS MORE DETAILS

By Nur Asena Erturk

EU foreign ministers gathered in Brussels on Monday to discuss the situation in the Middle East and Ukraine.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell will chair the Foreign Affairs Council meeting.

Informal exchanges are planned with ministers and other representatives from various countries including Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz, Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, and Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki.

Borrell told reporters at the doorstep that this meeting would be "exceptional" with the attendance of many guests from the Middle East.

"How many is too many? ... How long is it going to continue?" Borrell asked, referring to the civilian casualties and the conflict.

He stressed that the ministers must start talking about peace and the two-state solution.

"The peace and the stability cannot be built only by military means," Borrell added.

Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib, for her part, reiterated her country's call for an immediate cease-fire and efforts for a two-state solution.

French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne stressed that Ukraine is an "absolute priority" for Paris, and voiced hope for possible sanctions against violent Israeli settlers, particularly in the West Bank.

"(Israeli Prime Minister) Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks are worrying. There must be a state for Palestinians," he added, stressing the importance of efforts for a two-state solution.

The French foreign minister also wrote on X: "There must be a state for Palestinians. Not an endless occupation."

On Saturday, Netanyahu repeated his opposition to an independent Palestinian state and said on X: “I will not compromise on full Israeli security control over the entire area in the west of Jordan – and this is contrary to a Palestinian state.”

Israel launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip following an Oct. 7 cross-border incursion by Hamas, killing at least 25,295 Palestinians and injuring 63,000. Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack, according to Tel Aviv.

The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.