EU leaders to support humanitarian pauses in fighting between Israel and Hamas

EU leaders are meeting on Thursday in Brussels for a summit where they are expected to support a call for "humanitarian pauses" in the fighting between Israel and Hamas.

Source: the BBC, as reported by European Pravda

Details: European Council President Charles Michel said that the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza is a matter of serious concern, and leaders are seeking to facilitate Gazans’ access to food, water, medical care, fuel and shelter.

They hope that a temporary pause will create a safer environment for the release of the more than 200 hostages taken by Hamas militants in the 7 October attack. Many of those held captive have European dual citizenship, including citizens of Germany, France, Portugal and the Netherlands.

EU member states hold different views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and this prevents them from being united on the issue.

Some have reservations about the call for a pause in combat actions and argue that it could be seen as a restriction of Israel's right to defend itself. In particular, Germany and some other countries do not support the idea of a single humanitarian pause, as they consider it too close to the concept of a ceasefire, while Israel has the right to defend itself against attack.

Instead, there is support among EU countries for short pauses in the fighting, an EU diplomat told the BBC. "A pause means both actors stop for good, whereas pauses is [sic] temporary. It's short intervals for a few hours, to get aid," they said.

Germany, Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic have taken a firm stand in support of Israel. Spain and Ireland are more favourable to the Palestinian side.

Several European leaders have made a diplomatic tour of the Middle East. Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron held talks with the Egyptian president. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Czech PM Petr Fiala visited Israel on Wednesday.

Background:

• The European Commission stated that the European Union does not support a ceasefire in the Middle East, as Hamas is continuing to launch terrorist rocket attacks on Israel.
• The White House believes that a complete ceasefire in the Gaza Strip would only help Hamas militants.

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