BRUSSELS (Reuters) -All options are on the table if Israel does not deliver on its pledges to facilitate humanitarian aid in Gaza, the European Union’s top diplomat said on Tuesday.
“The killing of civilians seeking aid in Gaza is indefensible,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas wrote in a post on X, adding that she spoke with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar “to recall our understanding on aid flow and made clear that IDF must stop killing people at distribution points.”
Earlier this month, Kallas said Israel had agreed to expand humanitarian access to Gaza, including increasing the number of aid trucks, crossing points and routes to distribution hubs.
“All options remain on the table if Israel doesn’t deliver on its pledges,” Kallas said.
On Monday, two dozen Western countries called for Israel to immediately end its war in Gaza and criticized what they described as “inhumane killing” of Palestinians, saying it was “horrifying” that more than 800 civilians had been killed while seeking aid.
Israel’s foreign ministry called Monday’s statement “disconnected from reality” and said it would send the wrong message to Hamas.
Gaza health officials have said more than 59,000 Palestinians have died during the 21-month conflict in Gaza.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
(Reporting by Makini Brice; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
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