BRUSSELS, Saturday, February 3, 2024 (WAFA) – The European Union has expressed its deep concern over reports that the occupying Israeli military intends to invade the city of Rafah in the southernmost point of the Gaza Strip, where more than a million displaced people have escaped the Israeli aggression, now in its 120th day.
The EU’s top diplomat warned that the war is likely to spread throughout the Middle East region unless a ceasefire is reached, warning of the dangers associated with an Israeli invasion of the densely populated city.
Speaking in Brussels, where he was chairing informal talks among EU foreign ministers, Josep Borrell said that around 1 million Palestinians "have been displaced progressively against the Egyptian border. They claimed they were safe zones, but in fact what we see is that the bombing affecting the civilian population continues and it is creating a very dire situation."
The prospect of a ground Israeli invasion of Rafah has raised fears about where the population would go to find safety. The United Nations said the town is becoming a "pressure cooker of despair."
"We are living a critical situation in the Middle East, in the whole region," he said. "As long as the war in Gaza continues, it is very difficult to believe that the situation in the Red Sea will improve, because one thing is related with the other."
Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib, whose country currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency, warned of "a real risk of spillover" of the war.
"It’s a huge concern. We ask for restraint, and we ask for dialogue and diplomacy. It’s the only way we can calm down the situation in the Middle East," she told reporters.
Borrell also expressed concern about the fate of the U.N. agency responsible for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), after the United States and other countries suspended their funding for Gaza’s biggest humanitarian aid provider.
Borrell said the majority of ministers present from the 27 EU nations believe that UNRWA’s work is vital. While some countries have frozen their support, Borrell said that other ministers informed him that their governments would step up funding.
"UNRWA has been playing a critical role to support the Palestinian refugees, and not only in Gaza" but also in Lebanon and Jordan, Borrell said. "Who can substitute that overnight?" He said the EU welcomes the investigation launched by the agency.
M.N
