EU ministers discuss deal with Israel to increase Gaza aid

BRUSSELS AP The European Union is seeking updates from Israel on implementation of a new deal to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza according to Kaja Kallas the bloc s foreign agenda chief Foreign ministers from the EU s -member nations are meeting Tuesday in Brussels in the wake of a new aid deal for Gaza largely forged by Kallas and Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar Saar met with EU leaders on Monday after agreeing last week allow desperately needed food and fuel into the coastal enclave of million people who have endured more than months of war We have reached a common understanding with Israel to really improve the situation on the ground but it s not about the paper but indeed implementation of the paper Kallas mentioned before the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council As long as it hasn t really improved then we haven t all done enough she stated before calling for a ceasefire Details of the deal remain unclear but EU authorities have rejected any cooperation with the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund over ethical and safety concerns Opening more boundary crossings and allowing more aid trucks into Gaza is the priority but personnel say eventually they d like to set up a monitoring station at Kerem Shalom traversing Kallas mentioned the ministers will also discuss Iran s nuclear venture concerns over developments in Georgia and Moldova and new sanctions on Russia The EU is readying its th package of sanctions on Russia with holdouts within the bloc arguing over the keystone strategy of capping oil prices to cut into Moscow s power revenues European nations like Ireland the Netherlands and Spain have increasingly called for the EU s ties with Israel to be reassessed in the wake of the war in Gaza A assessment by the European Commission identified indications that Israel s actions in Gaza are violating human rights obligations in the agreement governing its ties with the EU but the block is divided over what to do in response That society pressure over Israel s conduct in Gaza made the new humanitarian deal viable even before a ceasefire declared Caspar Veldkamp the Dutch foreign minister That force of the EU member states is what I want to maintain now he explained The humanitarian deal broadcasted last week shows that the Association Agreement review and use of EU leverage has worked mentioned one European diplomat Spain s Foreign Minister Jos Manual Albares Bueno announced details of the deal were still being discussed and that the EU would monitor results to see if Israel is complying with those We don t know whether it we will know how it works he noted It s very clear that this agreement is not the end we have to stop the war The war began after Hamas attacked Israel in killing around people and taking others hostage bulk of whom have been published in earlier ceasefires Israel responded with an offensive that has killed more than Palestinians more than half of them women and children according to Gaza s Fitness Ministry The ministry which is under Gaza s Hamas-run executive doesn t differentiate between civilians and combatants The U N and other international organizations see its figures as the majority of reliable statistics on war casualties The EU has observed a few aid trucks entering Gaza but not enough explained Hajda Lahbib the EU Commissioner for humanitarian air and problem management The situation is still so dangerous so violent with strikes still continuing on the ground that our humanitarian partners cannot operate So this is the reality we need to have a ceasefire she revealed Source