A commitment by Israel to allow substantially more humanitarian aid into Gaza will be kept under “close watch” by the European Union, its foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas has said.
In a likely bid to head off growing momentum for EU sanctions, Israel promised it would let more aid into the Palestinian enclave, which has been devastated by 22 months of war.
The deal between Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar and Ms Kallas came days before EU foreign ministers were to discuss the possibility of putting sanctions on Israel, after the union concluded Israel’s military campaign in Gaza had breached human rights obligations.
Options on the table during the meeting in Brussels on Tuesday included suspending an EU-Israel “association agreement” that includes a free trade deal.
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Ministers were told the EU could also put economic sanctions on Israeli politicians, an embargo on weapons sales to Israel and cut off Israel’s access to research funding schemes. EU ministers did not agree to press forward with any of the options.
Germany and other states traditionally supportive of Israel opposed moving ahead with any sanctions, particularly in light of the tentative agreement to allow more aid into Gaza.
Many of the options to penalise Israel would require unanimous agreement from all 27 capitals, or in some cases a large majority in support of action, which has been lacking to date.
Spain’s foreign minister José Manuel Albares said he welcomed the aid deal but more information was needed about how it would work on the ground.
[ Irish physiotherapist in Gaza: ‘Nobody is safe, there’s no end in sight’ ]
“I think it’s good, anything that will allow food stuffs, medicines, fuel to enter Gaza will be welcome from us, but I want to know more details about the agreement and the mechanism of follow-up that the European Union will have to be able to check the implementation,” he said.
The Swedish government said the continued deterioration in the conditions in Gaza was “indefensible”. The Nordic state said it was not ruling out support for “additional measures to pressure the Israeli government”.
Minister of State for European affairs Thomas Byrne said Israel’s promise to allow more vital aid into Gaza was a result of pressure from the EU.
“We need to understand that we have that leverage. Dialogue is very important, but it’s not enough, we need to use leverage in our dialogue to get results,” he said.
Mr Byrne, who was representing the Irish Government, said the situation in Gaza had not changed. “There’s still slaughter going on, there’s still denial of access to food and water,” he said.
Speaking after the meeting, Ms Kallas said the EU would “keep a close watch” on the level of aid flowing into Gaza. Foreign ministers could return to possible sanctions if the Israeli government “does not live up to its pledges”, she said.
The EU’s top diplomat said the aim was not to “punish” Israel but improve the situation in Gaza, which remained “catastrophic”.
The EU wanted to see evidence more aid was reaching people, she said. “It is clear that we are in the situation where we don’t have a ceasefire and that’s why it is so much harder to provide aid,” the former Estonian prime minister said.
The EU’s failure to suspend its free trade agreement with Israel was a “cruel and unlawful betrayal”, which would be remembered as a “disgraceful” moment in the union’s history, said Agnès Callamard, secretary general of human rights organisation Amnesty International.
At least 58,000 Palestinians have been killed during Israel’s invasion and bombardment of Gaza, in response to the October 7th, 2023 attacks by Hamas militants.
Aid agencies have warned a blockade of food, medicine and fuel in recent months left many civilians in Gaza at risk of starving to death.
