the 27 countries of the European Union call for an “immediate humanitarian pause”

The leaders of the 27 countries of the European Union, meeting at a summit in Brussels, called on Thursday March 21 for a “immediate humanitarian pause” in Gaza. “The European Council calls for an immediate humanitarian pause leading to a lasting ceasefire, (calls) for the unconditional release of all hostages and the provision of humanitarian aid”according to this text.

In this press release, the Twenty-Seven also ask Israel to “do not carry out a ground operation in Rafah”in the south of the Gaza Strip, where hundreds of thousands of Gazans are fleeing the bombings.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirms that an offensive on Rafah, backed by the closed border with Egypt, is necessary to definitively defeat Hamas, despite international pressure and the presence in this city of nearly a million and a half people.