EU warns Israel as Trump's envoy heads to Europe for Gaza truce talks

Al Jazeera

4 days ago

The European Union has warned Israel of action over a worsening starvation crisis in Gaza, where the number of Palestinians who have died from starvation has risen to at least 101.
The warning from the EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, came on Tuesday, as the United States said President Donald Trump's special envoy would be travelling to Europe for talks on a ceasefire in Gaza this week.
In a post on X, Kallas said that 'all options remain on the table if Israel doesn't deliver on its pledges' to increase humanitarian aid into the besieged enclave.
She also said Israel's killing of civilians seeking aid in Gaza was 'indefensible' and that she had spoken to Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Saar 'to recall our understanding on aid flow and made clear that [Israeli military] must stop killing people at distribution points'.
Earlier this month, following an EU meeting to review the bloc's relations with Israel over mounting criticism of its war on Gaza, Kallas said that Israel had agreed to improve the humanitarian situation in the enclave.
These included pledges to increase the number of aid trucks, crossing points and routes to distribution points.
But aid officials say the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza has not increased despite that agreement.
The US, meanwhile, said that Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, will be travelling to a European country for talks on a truce, as well as on finalising an aid 'corridor' for Gaza. He may then head to the Middle East for more talks, according to media reports.
'Strong hope'
Axios, a US news outlet, reported that Witkoff will be travelling to the Italian city of Rome on Wednesday and will meet with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and a senior Qatari envoy on Thursday.
If sufficient progress is made, Witkoff will travel from Rome to the Qatari capital, Doha, towards the end of the week to secure a deal, the website reported, citing two US and Israeli sources familiar with the details.
The US State Department told reporters that Witkoff was heading to the region with 'a strong hope that we will come forward with another ceasefire as well as a humanitarian corridor for aid to flow'.
Spokesperson Tammy Bruce declined to give further details on the corridor.
'I would suggest that we might have some good news, but, again, as we know, this could be a constantly changing dynamic,' she said.
Israel cut off all goods from entering the territory in March, but has allowed in a trickle of aid starting in May, mostly through the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and bypassing the United Nations.
The GHF has set up four distribution points in south and central Gaza, and according to the UN, Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians seeking food aid since the group began its operations in late May.
Most of the victims were killed at or near the GHF sites.
The killings come as the number of people starving to death in Gaza also rises, with health authorities reporting 101 deaths since the war began, including 80 children.
Most of the deaths have come in the last few weeks.
On Tuesday alone, the figure was 15, with four children among the victims.
Israel denies responsibility for the shortages of food in Gaza, while the GHF has also rejected what it said were 'false and exaggerated statistics' from the UN about the killings at its aid sites.
Qatar calls for more pressure
The US, Qatar and Egypt have been pushing for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas for months, but a breakthrough has so far eluded them.
The two sides have been discussing via the mediators a US-proposal for a 60-day truce in which Hamas would free more of the Israeli captives it is holding in Gaza, while Israel would release Palestinian prisoners and let in humanitarian aid. During that period, they would also begin negotiations on a permanent end to the war.
While there has been some minor progress, officials say that Israel and Hamas remain divided on the extent to which Israeli troops would withdraw after any ceasefire takes place.
Qatar has meanwhile called on the US and the international community to put more pressure on Israel.
Foreign Ministry official Majed al-Ansari told a conference that 'the Israeli government does not view Palestinians as human beings' and that Israel's reckless behaviour, not only in Gaza, but also with its attacks on Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iran, has endangered security in the Middle East.
'We are hopeful [for ceasefire talks], but the parameters remain. If there is no change in the Israeli directive not to have a deal and sabotage any talks, if there is no serious pressure from the international community, particularly the United States, the parameters of the talks will not change,' he said.
'But we are doing right now is trying to push using the momentum was created by another mediation that we were doing, which is the ceasefire between Iran and Israel to make sure that momentum helps us reach a deal between both sides, and hopefully get us to an end to this terrible chapter in the history of our region,' he added.