The announcement of the increase in humanitarian aid follows a telephone conversation on Saturday between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, says Politico.
Von der Leyen and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola came to Israel on Friday to pay tribute to the victims of the Hamas attack on Israel that killed more than 1,300 people. But they have received some backlash for not publicly calling for restraint from Israel as it launches an offensive on Gaza. Meanwhile, EU foreign ministers earlier this week emphasised the need for restraint and called for food, water and medical supplies to be delivered to Gaza and condemned the Hamas attack on Israel.
European Council chief Charles Michel called an extraordinary virtual meeting of EU leaders for Tuesday to forge a “clear unified course of action that reflects the complexity of the unfolding situation.”
“We stand in full solidarity with the people of Israel and the victims of the terrorist attacks,” Michel said in a statement, but added that “the unfolding tragic scenes in the Gaza Strip resulting from the siege and the lack of basic needs combined with the destruction brought by significant shelling, are raising alarm bells in the international community.”
Afterwards, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the warnings “must be realistic.” Of course, ”It’s utterly unrealistic that one million people can move in 24 hours,” he said.
Several EU leaders called on Israel to enforce international law in response to the Hamas attack. Belgian Prime Minister Alexandre de Croo said Israel has the right to self-defence but must respect international law. Spanish leader Pedro Sanchez said Saturday that the evacuation of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip was not endorsed by international law and called for a two-state solution to the conflict.
