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EU Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib on Monday described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “unbearable,” calling for humanitarian access to the enclave and greater political engagement from Israeli authorities, Anadolu reports.
“I have no words to describe this situation. Nine months after the so-called ceasefire, shelling continues, disease is spreading, people are dying. The humanitarian situation is unbearable,” Lahbib told reporters ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
She said humanitarian organizations must be allowed to operate in Gaza, arguing that “there is a clear lack of political will and engagement from Israeli authorities.”
“We must have access to Gaza, we must have the possibility to reopen,” she said.
READ: EU rejects Israel’s Gaza territory plans, demands immediate crossing access
Lahbib also defended the role of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, saying UNRWA was “essential” and that its staff, including “thousands of doctors, nurses, teachers,” were “part of the solution.”
“Everything goes against international humanitarian law,” she said.
Lahbib said EU foreign ministers would discuss an options paper presented by the European Commission, including measures related to Israeli settlements. “We see more and more violent settlers grabbing territories, gaining territories with the support of the Israeli army,” she said.
Turning to Lebanon, Lahbib said the situation in the south remained “very fragile” despite the ceasefire, with attacks continuing. She warned against “a similar situation to Gaza” emerging in southern Lebanon, with “a protracted crisis, immense suffering, and immense humanitarian needs.”
READ: EU hides secret Gaza files as UN says Israel is committing genocide
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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