EU tells Israel to 'stop killing people' at aid distribution points as UN says 1,000 killed since May
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the bloc also condemned any
attacks against the World Health Organization
(WHO) after the agency said its facilities in Gaza had been targeted by Israeli forces.
Kallas wrote on X that 'the killing of civilians seeking aid in Gaza is indefensible'.
'I spoke again with Gideon Saar to recall our understanding on aid flow and made clear that IDF must stop killing people at distribution points,' she wrote.
The UN on said today that Israeli forces have killed over 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food aid in Gaza since the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation started operations.
Advertisement
An officially private effort, the GHF began operations on 26 May after Israel halted supplies into the Gaza Strip for more than two months, sparking famine warnings.
The United Nations and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives and violates basic humanitarian principles.
The European Union early this month said it had struck a deal with Israel to get more aid into Gaza.
Kallas laid out a series of actions that EU states could take against Israel unless the dire humanitarian situation improves.
'All options remain on the table if Israel doesn't deliver on its pledges,' Kallas wrote in a post on X.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen joined the calls by saying 'civilians cannot be targets. Never.'
'The images from Gaza are unbearable,' von der Leyen wrote.
Related Reads
'Humanitarian city' for Palestinians would be a 'concentration camp', says former Israeli PM
'Let's call a spade a spade': Israeli government 'committing genocide in Gaza', Taoiseach says
'Civilians in Gaza have suffered too much, for too long. It must stop now. Israel must deliver on its pledges.'
EU officials have said there have been some improvements for aid access to Gaza, but that a lot more needs to be done.
'Channels are open and pressure is actually being put on the Israeli counterpart, so time is of the essence,' EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni said.
The spokesman also condemned attacks on 'any WHO premises or any hospitals' after the UN agency said Monday its facilities in Gaza had come under Israeli attack.
'Let's be clear: premises of WHO must not be attacked and must be protected,' he said.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the Israeli military had entered the UN agency's staff residence, forced women and children to evacuate on foot, and handcuffed, stripped and interrogated male staff at gunpoint.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
33 minutes ago
- Irish Independent
EU and US move toward trade deal that could include a 15pc baseline tariff on EU goods with possible exemptions
European negotiators were hoping to reach an agreement to dodge the 30pc tariff rate Trump has said he would impose on imports from the 27-nation bloc on August 1. The rate, which could also extend to cars, would mirror the framework agreement the U.S. has struck with Japan, which Trump announced late on Tuesday. There could be concessions for sectors like aircraft and lumber as well as some medicines and agricultural products, which would not face tariffs, the diplomats said. Washington does not, however, appear willing to lower its current 50pc tariff on steel, they said. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro told Bloomberg News the report from the EU should be taken with "a grain of salt." As talks continued, the European Commission said it would press on with potential counter-measures in case a deal was not reached. EU member states were set to vote on 93 billion euros of counter-tariffs on U.S. goods on Thursday, European diplomats said. A broad majority of members support using anti-coercion instruments if there is no deal, they said. Trump was aiming to secure an agreement on the heels of a complicated deal reached with Japan, the largest foreign investor in the U.S. That deal included a $550 investment and loan pledges from Japan and its commitment to buy 100 Boeing airplanes and boost purchases of U.S. agricultural products. That investment - to be spent at Trump's discretion - would focus on key industries like energy, semiconductors, critical minerals, pharmaceuticals and shipbuilding, the White House said on Wednesday. Tariffs on Japan's auto sector will drop from 27.5pc to 15pc as part of the agreement, reviving hopes for similar treatment for European cars. Asian and European stock markets rallied as investors cheered the U.S.-Japan agreement, but U.S. stocks showed a more modest rise and earnings reports were gloomy. American businesses making everything from chips to steel reported downbeat results on Wednesday, revealing how the Trump administration's chaotic trade policy has hurt profits, added to costs, upended supply chains and weighed on consumer confidence. U.S. automakers signaled their unhappiness with the Japan deal, raising concerns about a trade regime that cuts tariffs on Japanese auto imports while leaving 25pc tariffs on imports from their plants and suppliers in Canada and Mexico. "Any deal that charges a lower tariff for Japanese imports with virtually no U.S. content than the tariff imposed on North American-built vehicles with high U.S. content is a bad deal for U.S. industry and U.S. auto workers," said Matt Blunt, the president of the American Automotive Policy Council, which represents General Motors, Ford and Chrysler parent Stellantis. Automobile stocks led the climb of European shares after the Japan deal spurred hopes that the U.S. was budging over tariffs on EU cars. EU officials have previously said Washington has shown little sign of doing so. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview with Bloomberg Television that Japan received the 15pc rate on auto tariffs "because they were willing to provide this innovative financing mechanism" that he did not think other countries could replicate. Trump, however, has appeared open to a range of options as the U.S. negotiates trade deals. "I will only lower tariffs if a country agrees to open its market," Trump wrote in a social media post on Wednesday. The Republican president said late on Tuesday that other countries would be coming to Washington for talks this week. Governments were scrambling to close trade deals before next week's deadline that the White House has repeatedly pushed back under pressure from markets and intense lobbying by industry. U.S. and Chinese officials plan to meet in Stockholm next week to discuss extending an August 12 deadline for negotiating a trade deal. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday would not discuss expectations for the meeting, but said Bessent "looks forward to continuing discussions with his Chinese counterparts."
RTÉ News
2 hours ago
- RTÉ News
IFAC accuses Govt of 'poor planning and budgeting'
The State's fiscal watchdog has accused the Government of "poor planning and budgeting" following the release of yesterday's Summer Economic Statement. The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council said: "Budget 2025 had planned a €3bn increase in spending. Yesterday, this was revised up by €3.3bn, meaning the actual 2025 increase will be more than double the original plan." It added that current spending this year is likely to be €1bn higher than stated in the Summer Economic Statement. It said when volatile windfall corporation tax paid by multinationals were excluded from the figures the Government was running a deficit of almost €11bn next year. The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council also criticised the Government for stating that it would have a smaller budget package if the economic environment deteriorated because of the trade war between the US and EU. It said this approach was the "exactly the opposite of standard economic advice." It added: "Countercyclical policy means giving more support when the economy is weak and less when it is strong." It said that the government's budgetary plans were focused on the short term. It added: "The Government has yet to outline a fiscal framework. It has not set a limit for what it sees as a sustainable pace of net spending growth." However, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council was more positive about the review of the National Development Plan which it said had "ambitious targets" for the coming years. It said if the plan was well executed it could help address shortfalls in Ireland's infrastructure. But it added the last National Development Plan "struggled with timely delivery". It said: "Of the 88 large projects we can track that were scheduled for completion between 2020 and 2025, only 77 are now expected to be finished within that timeframe."
Irish Examiner
4 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
EU and US closing on 15% tariff deal to break impasse
The European Union and the US are progressing toward an agreement that would set a 15% tariff for most products, according to diplomats briefed on the negotiations. Member states could be ready to accept a 15% tariff and EU officials are pushing to have that cover sectors including cars, the diplomats said. Steel and aluminium imports above a certain quota would face the 50% duty, one of the diplomats added. The diplomats said that while the EU is optimistic that a deal can be reached, they are also cautious that any final agreement will need sign off from US president Donald Trump and his ultimate decision is difficult to predict. The EU has prepared plans to hit the US with 30% tariffs on some €100bn worth of goods in the event of no deal and if Mr Trump carries through with his threat to impose that rate on most of the bloc's exports after August 1. As a part of a first wave of countermeasures, the EU would combine an already approved list of tariffs on €21bn of US goods and a previously proposed list on an additional €72bn of US items into one package, a European Commission spokesman said yesterday. The US exports, which include industrial goods such as Boeing aircraft, US-made cars, and bourbon whiskey, would face a levy that matches Mr Trump's 30% threat, sources said. US treasury secretary Scott Bessent dismissed talk of €100bn tariffs by the EU as a 'negotiating tactic', adding: 'It's what I would do if I were in their place'. Mr Trump announced two tariff deals on Tuesday — one with the Philippines and another with Japan, and both featured across-the-board duties on their imports that were lower than initially threatened. Also noteworthy was the 15% US levy on Japanese autos that was lower than the current 25% rate on major car exporters including the EU. Mr Bessent said the EU has not yet brought anything as innovative as the Japanese offer. 'Talks are going better than they had been,' he said. 'I think that we are making good progress with the EU, but as I've said before, the EU has a collective action problem with 27 countries.' The EU's most potent trade tool is the ACI, and a growing number of member states is pushing for its use if a deal isn't reached. The instrument is primarily designed as a deterrent and is currently not on the table, with its activation requiring a qualified majority of member states to support the move. The ACI would enable the EU to launch a broad range of retaliatory actions, including new taxes on US tech giants, targeted curbs on investments, and limiting access to the EU market. The commission is discussing the instrument with members, the sources said. While some capitals having been pushing to use the tool, most want to wait to see how the situation develops beyond August 1 before progressing discussions further to try to achieve the required majority, they added. The overwhelming preferencewas to keep negotiations with Washington on track. European leaders are in Tokyo and Beijing this week for talks with some of the bloc's biggest trading partners in Asia. European automakers' stocks rallied after the US-Japan trade deal sparked hopes that American import tariffs on their vehicles could be cut. Bloomberg
