Foreign ministers from Spain, Ireland, Belgium, and Luxembourg have jointly urged the EU to use its “considerable leverage” with Israel to address what they describe as a continuing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, despite ceasefire efforts.
The call came ahead of Monday's (15 December) foreign affairs council in Brussels, where the EU-27 are expected to discuss the redeployment of the EU border assistance mission to Rafah (EUBAM Rafafh) to facilitate entry and exit from the Strip, and the EUPOL COPPS (European Union Mission for the Support of Palestinian Police and Rule of Law) mission to train Palestinian police and prosecutors.
Talks in Brussels also take place amid tensions between Israel and Hamas, who are accusing each other of delays to the ceasefire’s second phase.
Over the weekend, Israel announced that it had killed a Hamas senior commander and three associates in the Gaza Strip.
On Monday, US envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, president Trump’s son-in-law, briefed EU foreign ministers on Gaza peace plan via a video conference. This was at France's request.
But while hopes to move on to the next ceasefire phase remain high, many argue that conditions on the ground remain "dire".
In a joint letter dated 14 December, seen by EUobserver and addressed to EU chief diplomat Kaja Kallas, the foreign ministers from Spain, Ireland, Belgium, and Luxembourg expressed “growing concern” over the lack of progress in improving conditions for civilians in Gaza.
They said that two months after the ceasefire took effect, Gaza’s population continues to face severe shortages of food, shelter, medicine and sanitation, particularly as winter conditions worsen.
“There is a ceasefire that is too fragile and, above all, is constantly being violated, so it must be consolidated once and for all,” said one of the letter signatories, Spanish foreign affairs minister José Manuel Albares, before the meeting with her counterparts on Monday.
Gaza’s ministry of health says over 360 Palestinians have been killed and 922 injured in the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire entered into force on 10 October.
“It is an absolute dire situation for many thousands of civilians,” said Irish foreign affairs minister Helen McEntee, adding that Europe must do its utmost to unblock the prevention of trucks coming in, as well as the type of aid getting in.
In their letter, the ministers also noted that the volume of humanitarian aid entering the territory remained “nowhere near sufficient” and criticised what they described as "highly restrictive [Israeli] controls that continue to obstruct an effective humanitarian response”.
“All crossings must be fully reopened in both directions, truck limits must be removed, customs and movement restrictions must be eased, and critical humanitarian items must enter without restriction,” they said.
In a recent interview with EUobserver, UNRWA chief in Brussels Marta Lorenzo also echoed similar concerns.
“For UNRWA specifically, we are not managing to get through the supplies that we have in Jordan,” she told EUobserver.
Meanwhile, the four ministers emphasised the “indispensable role” of the UN and its agencies, particularly UNRWA, and warned that restricting the operations of international NGOs would make a viable humanitarian response impossible.
Last week, a UN resolution called on Israel to allow unrestricted humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip, particularly for UNRWA. The text was backed by 139 countries, but 12 voted against, including Israel and the US.
At the same time, last week it was reported the US state department is considering hitting UNRWA with terrorism sanctions.
The first phase of the October ceasefire brokered by the US involved halting hostilities, returning captives and the dead, and delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Phase two includes Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, disarming Palestinian armed groups, and international or joint security mechanisms to ensure the ceasefire holds.
Spain, Ireland, Belgium, and Luxembourg also reaffirmed their commitment to a two-state solution, warning that settlement expansion, annexation, and demographic changes in the occupied Palestinian territory are “illegal” and “must cease immediately”.
Similar language is expected in the conclusions of the European Council summit on Thursday and Friday.
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Elena is EUobserver's editor-in-chief. She is from Spain and has studied journalism and new media in Spanish and Belgian universities. Previously she worked on European affairs at VoteWatch Europe and the Spanish news agency EFE.
Elena is EUobserver's editor-in-chief. She is from Spain and has studied journalism and new media in Spanish and Belgian universities. Previously she worked on European affairs at VoteWatch Europe and the Spanish news agency EFE.