EU says Israeli strikes in Gaza go beyond what is necessary to fight Hamas

The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, has said that “Israeli strikes in Gaza go beyond what is necessary to fight Hamas” as the death toll there continues to mount.

Kallas also said that the EU did not support a new aid distribution model backed by the US and Israel which bypasses the UN and other humanitarian organisations.

“We don’t support the privatisation of the distribution of humanitarian aid. Humanitarian aid can not be weaponised”, she said.

Israeli air strikes and other military actions since it resumed the war in March following a ceasefire have killed 3,924 people, the Hamas-run health ministry says. Israel says it is acting to destroy Hamas and get back hostages the group holds.

Recent Israel bombardments have killed large numbers of civilians. Last Friday an air strike in Khan Younis killed nine of a Palestinian doctor’s 10 children. At least 35 people were killed in a school building sheltering displaced families in northern Gaza overnight into Monday.

Kallas’ remarks follows an intervention by new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz who declared he “no longer understands” Israel’s objectives in the besieged enclave.

“The way in which the civilian population has been affected… can no longer be justified by a fight against Hamas terrorism,” he said.

The EU is one of the largest donors of humanitarian aid to Gaza, yet Kallas said most of it was currently unable to get to Palestinians who need it. Israel imposed a complete blockade on Gaza in March and only began allowing a trickle of aid in after 11 weeks.

“The majority of the aid to Gaza is provided by the EU but it’s not reaching the people as it is blocked by Israel,” Kallas said.

“The suffering of the people is untenable.”

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen meanwhile described recent Israeli attacks on Gaza’s civilian infrastructure as “abhorrent” and “disproportionate”.

It also follows the strongest criticism yet by the UK, France and Canada, who demanded Israel end its military offensive in Gaza. The UK later said it was suspending trade talks with Israel.

The EU has launched a formal review of its own trade agreement with Israel and Kallas said she would present “options” at the upcoming EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on 23 June.

UN agencies have warned that Gaza’s 2.1 million population is facing catastrophic levels of hunger after an almost three-month Israeli blockade that was eased last week.

Israel and the US are backing a new aid distribution system run by a controversial new group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

The GHF’s aid distribution system uses US security contractors and bypasses the UN, which has rejected it as unethical and unworkable. The US and Israeli governments have said it is preventing aid from being stolen by Hamas, which the armed group denies doing.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on Tuesday plans to relocate Gaza’s entire population to a “sterile zone” in the south of the territory while Israeli troops continue fighting Hamas elsewhere. He also vowed to facilitate what he described as the “voluntary emigration” of much of Gaza’s population to other countries – a plan many view as forcible expulsion.

Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response Hamas’ cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 54,084 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s health ministry.