The prime ministers of Spain and Ireland asked the European Commission on Wednesday to verify urgently whether Israel is fulfilling its commitments to protect human rights in the Gaza Strip.
The two leaders, who along with Belgium have been the most vocal in Europe about Israeli operations in Gaza since the start of the five-month conflict, said the attack on Rafah, a densely populated southern border town, posed a “grave and imminent threat that the international community must urgently confront.” The prime ministers said in a joint letter published on the Spanish government website:
“We also recall the horror of Oct. 7, and call for the release of all hostages and an immediate ceasefire that can facilitate access for urgently needed humanitarian supplies.”
During a Hamas attack on southern Israel on 7 October, 1,200 Israelis were killed and some 240 taken hostage. In response, Israel launched a military operation in the Gaza Strip. Since then, Israeli strikes have killed at least 28,576 Palestinians, Gaza’s health ministry said on Wednesday.
A Spanish government source said he was confident that European countries were uniting around a stronger stance and that the European Commission would take more concrete action over Israel’s actions in Gaza. On Tuesday, Alexander De Croo, the prime minister of Belgium, which currently holds the presidency of the EU Council, tweeted that the actions could lead to an “imminent humanitarian catastrophe.”
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said before talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that an offensive on Rafah would jeopardise the humanitarian situation in the country.
Although only Spain and Ireland signed the letter, the source said he expected further support for revising the agreement when ministers meet at the Council of Europe in March.
Their intervention came after South Africa took Israel to the International Court of Justice over genocide allegations. The EU Commission acknowledged receipt of the letter.
