Situation in Gaza remains intolerable: EU foreign policy chief

Brussels: European Union’s (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said on Wednesday that the situation in Gaza remains “intolerable.”
The top EU diplomat, in her social media platform X post, accused Israel of carrying out strikes that “go beyond what is necessary.”
Kallas denounced the “disproportionate use of force” by Israeli forces in Gaza, and urged a return to the ceasefire to secure the hostages’ release and pave the way for a negotiated, lasting peace.
“Israel’s military operation in Gaza, the disproportionate use of force and the deaths of civilians cannot be tolerated,” Kallas said in a statement on the EU External Action website. She added that the continued targeting of civilian infrastructure is “unacceptable.”
Kallas insisted that humanitarian aid “must never be politicised or militarised,” underscoring the United Nations’ central role in delivering assistance.
“We renew our urgent call for the immediate, unimpeded and sustained resumption of aid at scale, according to the needs of the civilian population in Gaza,” she said.
The High Representative also sharply criticised a rise in settler violence in the occupied West Bank, citing “intimidation campaigns, physical and verbal attacks, and the destruction and burning of property and homes” that have displaced entire Palestinian communities.
“Israel must immediately take decisive steps to address this issue and ensure that the perpetrators of these crimes are held accountable,” she said.
Kallas further condemned incidents during Jerusalem Day in East Jerusalem’s Old City, where crowds of far-right Israeli activists marched through narrow streets, attacking Palestinians and intimidating residents and journalists.
She warned that such provocative actions by political leaders risk undermining “the special status and character of Jerusalem and its Old City.”
Israel launched a ground and air offensive in Gaza following the Oct. 7, 2023 attack, in which Hamas-led fighters killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. The ensuing Israeli bombardments have devastated large parts of the enclave, killing at least 54,056 people and wounding 123,129 others, said the health authorities in Gaza on Tuesday.
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