BRUSSELS: EU chief Ursula von der Leyen denounced as “abhorrent” Israel’s deadly wave of strikes on civilian facilities in Gaza including a school, during a call with Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Tuesday.
Rescuers said Israeli strikes killed at least 52 people in the Gaza Strip Monday, 33 in a school-turned-shelter, in a renewed offensive on the Palestinian territory that has drawn international condemnation.
“The expansion of Israel’s military operations in Gaza targeting civilian infrastructure, among them a school that served as a shelter for displaced Palestinian families, killing civilians, including children, is abhorrent,” von der Leyen said, according to an EU readout of the call.
“The European Commission has always supported — and will continue to support — Israel’s right to security and self-defence,” she said.
“But this escalation and disproportionate use of force against civilians cannot be justified under humanitarian and international law,” von der Leyen warned.
The commission chief demanded that Israel “immediately restore aid delivery in line with humanitarian principles, with the participation of the UN and other international humanitarian partners”.
The European Union has struggled to have an impact on the conflict due to long-standing divisions within the bloc between countries who back Israel and those considered more pro-Palestinian.
Momentum to ramp up the pressure on Israel has been growing however since Israel restarted its Gaza offensive.
The EU last week launched a review of its association agreement with Israel over human rights abuses in Gaza after 17 of its 27 member states backed the move. – Agencies
