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EU not ‘living up to responsibilities’ on Gaza war: Belgium
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot says the EU’s credibility on foreign policy is “collapsing” because of the bloc’s failure to act over Israel’s war on Gaza.
“It is undeniable, we are not going to bury our heads in the sand, that the European Union at this stage is not living up to its responsibilities in this enormous humanitarian crisis,” Prevot said in an interview.
“It is clear that, in the eyes of the public, the credibility of the European Union’s foreign policy on this particular issue is collapsing.”
Belgium has said it will recognise the state of Palestine at this month’s UN General Assembly, while unilaterally imposing new sanctions against Israel, in view of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“There is a moral obligation, and there is also a legal imperative to act; countries are parties to international conventions and treaties that oblige them to take all necessary measures to prevent genocide from occurring,” said Belgium’s top diplomat.
“We must be proactive defenders of international law.”
WHO chief urges Israel to stop Gaza starvation ‘catastrophe’
The World Health Organization chief has urged Israel to stop the “catastrophe” of people starving to death in Gaza, saying at least 370 people have died from malnutrition since the war began.
“This is a catastrophe that Israel could have prevented and could stop at any time,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters.
“Starvation of civilians as a method of war is a war crime that can never be tolerated: doing so in one conflict risks legitimising its use in future conflicts,” he said.
His comments came two weeks after the United Nations declared a famine in Gaza, blaming the “systematic obstruction” of humanitarian deliveries by Israel.
The Health Ministry in Gaza reported 373 people, including 134 children, have died from starvation and malnutrition in the besieged Palestinian territory since the war there erupted in October 2023.
Tedros repeated the number and said it included “more than 300 just in the past two months”.
“People are starving to death while the food that could save them sits on trucks a short distance away. The most intolerable part of this man-made disaster is that it could be stopped right now.”
