EU told Israel fresh Gaza strikes 'unacceptable'

BRUSSELS: The EU’s top diplomat said Wednesday that she told her Israeli counterpart the fresh wave of strikes on Gaza was “unacceptable”.

Israel on Tuesday launched its most intense strikes on the Gaza Strip since a January 19 ceasefire with Palestinian militant group Hamas ended more than 15 months of war.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she asked Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Saar “Why are you doing this?” during a conversation Tuesday.

Kallas said she conveyed “the message that this is unacceptable”, referring specifically to “the loss of civilian lives”.

The bombardments, which came after the collapse of talks on extending the truce, killed more than 400 people, the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned late Tuesday that the strikes were “only the beginning” and that future negotiations with Hamas “will take place only under fire”.

Kallas said she would travel to Egypt on Sunday to discuss the situation with the “Arab Quint” bringing together Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, adding there was a need to increase diplomatic pressure on Israel.

Israel has vowed to keep fighting until the return of all the hostages seized by the Palestinian militants during the October 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war.