EU edges towards call for humanitarian pause in Gaza bombardment

The European Union is edging towards issuing a demand for a humanitarian pause in the bombardment of Gaza to allow for aid to reach Palestinian civilians.

The EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, backed the idea as the 27 foreign ministers met in Luxembourg to discuss the conflict that began when Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, launched a bloody attack on Israel on October 7th.

“The humanitarian situation...it’s very dire,” Mr Borrell told reporters as Palestinian authorities said the death toll from Israel’s bombardment had surpassed 5,000. “The only thing that we can do is to ask for a humanitarian pause, and increase the access of humanitarian support. This is what is in our hands, and this is what we are doing,” he said.

The EU has sent trucks with aid to the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza, but many have been held up as negotiations continue over how the contents can be verified, with disagreement over what should be allowed in and concerns from Israel that supplies could be used by Hamas.

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Mr Borrell said fuel supplies must also be allowed to pass to power Gaza’s desalination plants that provide drinking water and to keep hospital generators running. Israel is concerned that fuel could be used by the militant group.

Between 30 and 40 trucks were allowed to pass the crossing over two days, which was welcomed by the EU, though officials warned that this was insufficient and that aid needed to flow continuously as in normal times 100 aid trucks go into Gaza daily.

EU national leaders are set to meet on Thursday and Friday to discuss the situation, and an early draft of their conclusions backs a “humanitarian pause” in the fighting, though the wording may change as talks continue.

Ireland backed the call for a stop in fighting to allow aid to reach civilians, with Tanáiste Micheál Martin telling reporters it was of the “utmost urgency”.

“The loss of life is enormous, is at a scale that has to be stopped, and in our view the suffering of innocent civilians and particularly children is on a scale that requires an immediate cessation,” he said.

Spain’s acting foreign minister José Manuel Albares said there was an “absolute consensus” among foreign ministers that humanitarian aid should reach civilians in Gaza.

However, it was unclear whether the call for a humanitarian pause in fighting has consensus support among the 27 EU countries, which will be needed if it is to be endorsed by leaders later this week. German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock told reporters that Hamas was continuing to attack Israel with rocket barrages from the Gaza Strip. “We can’t end the humanitarian catastrophe when the terrorism from Gaza continues,” she said.

Austria’s foreign minister Alexander Schallenberg said everyone wanted the violence to stop but that “Israel has the right to self-defence”, while the Czech foreign minister Jan Lipavsky questioned how a ceasefire could work “with a partner inside Gaza, where the Hamas terrorist organisation now is controlling the situation”.