The head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell suggested on Monday that Israel implement a “humanitarian pause” in the fighting in Gaza in order to facilitate access for the Red Cross to hostages held by Hamas.
“I think a humanitarian pause balanced by access to the hostages by the International Committee of the Red Cross as a first step towards their release is an initiative that we could work on,” Mr. Borrell told the diplomats of the European Union.
The US, EU and other countries have called for “humanitarian pauses” in the war between Israel and the Palestinian movement Hamas to allow international aid to flow into the small territory. besieged and deprived of everything.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes any pause in the war until the more than 240 hostages kidnapped and held by Hamas since October 7 have been released.
“Call it a truce, a (humanitarian) window, whatever you want, but we need the violence to decrease and international law to be respected,” Mr. Borrell stressed. “There is no military solution to the conflict,” he insisted.
Israel carried out intense bombardments on Monday on the besieged Gaza Strip, where the war has left nearly 10,000 dead, according to the Hamas government, in power in the Gaza Strip, in almost a month, while violent fighting in ground are raging despite pressing calls for a humanitarian truce.
These bombings hit civilians hard, in this small territory of 362 square kilometers populated by 2.4 million inhabitants, placed since October 9 under a state of “complete siege” by Israel, which has cut off water deliveries, electricity and food.
The Israeli army launched a new call on Monday morning for civilians to leave the north of the Gaza Strip, which has been shelled relentlessly in retaliation for the attack, of a violence and scale unprecedented since the creation of Israel in 1948, launched on October 7 against Israel by the Palestinian Islamist movement.
In parallel with its campaign of strikes, Israel has been waging fierce ground battles against Hamas since October 27, which it promised to “annihilate”.
This article is originally published on lorientlejour.com
