Brussels, Belgium — The EU on Thursday struck a deal with Israel to increase aid access to Gaza that should see more food trucks entering and the opening of additional crossing points, the bloc’s top diplomat said.
“Today, we reached an agreement with Israel to expand humanitarian access to Gaza,” European Union foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas wrote on X.
“This deal means more crossings open, aid and food trucks entering Gaza, repair of vital infrastructure and protection of aid workers. We count on Israel to implement every measure agreed,” Kallas added.
Gaza’s two million residents are facing dire humanitarian conditions as Israel has severely limited aid during its devastating war with Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The current system of aid distribution by a US- and Israeli-backed group has drawn international condemnation.
More than 600 people have been killed around aid distribution centers and convoys in Gaza since late May, when Israel began allowing in a trickle of supplies after a blockade, the United Nations said in early July.
In a statement Kallas said the new measures agreed by Israel “are or will be implemented in the coming days, with the common understanding that aid at scale must be delivered directly to the population”.
She said the steps included a “substantial increase of daily trucks for food and non- food items” going into Gaza, the opening of several more crossing points in both the northern and southern areas, and the reopening of routes from Jordan and Egypt.
“The EU stands ready to coordinate with all relevant humanitarian stakeholders, UN agencies and NGOs on the ground, to ensure swift implementation of those urgent steps,” the statement said.
Israel sanctions proposals
The move comes as Israel and Hamas haggle over the details of a US-backed ceasefire deal to halt the war — including conditions for aid deliveries.
The EU has been weighing taking measures against Israel after finding it in breach of a cooperation deal between the two sides because of its actions in Gaza.
Kallas’s office on Thursday sent out a raft of possible options to member states including curbing trade links, sanctioning Israeli ministers, halting visa-free visits for Israelis and imposing an arms embargo.
The list is expected to be discussed by EU foreign ministers at a meeting next week in Brussels.
But the 27-nation bloc is struggling to reach a consensus given divisions between staunch supporters of Israel and countries backing the Palestinians.
The war in Gaza began after Hamas militants attacked Israeli border communities on October 7, 2023, leading to the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP count of official Israeli figures.
Israel’s retaliatory strikes have killed at least 57,680 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
The United Nations deems the figures reliable.
