European Union leaders on Thursday called for “humanitarian corridors and pauses” to ensure aid reaches the besieged Gaza Strip during a summit in Brussels.
In a joint declaration, the 27 leaders expressed their “gravest concern for the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza” and called “for continued, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access and aid to reach those in need through all necessary measures including humanitarian corridors and pauses for humanitarian needs.”
“The aid needs to reach Gaza, unhindered and quickly,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in the early hours of Friday morning. She announced that the bloc would send two more flights of humanitarian cargo to the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing on Friday and sign a €40 million contract with UN agencies as part of its tripling of humanitarian aid.
The statement, released shortly before 22:00 CET, came following five hours of debate, where according to one diplomat a “small number” of countries had expressed preference for echoing UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ call for a “humanitarian ceasefire.”
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