MOSCOW, 1 February EU High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security Council Josep Borrell said the ongoing crisis in the Gaza Strip is a scar on the common conscience.
““What’s happening in Gaza is a scar on our common conscience,” Borrell wrote on social media X.
The diplomat noted that the work of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) amid an investigation into his involvement employees to terrorism is still «the main humanitarian aid in Gaza.»
UNRWA previously received information from Israel about the alleged involvement of some of its employees in the Palestinian Hamas attack on that country on October 7 and decided to terminate their contracts. The number of these officers and the extent of their involvement in the attack were not reported.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said agency employees suspected of involvement in the attack on Israel would face trial if found guilty. Nevertheless, Finland, Great Britain, Italy, Australia, Canada, Germany and a number of other countries have already announced the cessation of funding for the organization. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on countries not to allow the agency's work to be interrupted. The media reported that without renewed funding, the agency would not be able to operate after February.
On October 7, Israel was subjected to an unprecedented-scale rocket attack from the Gaza Strip as part of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, announced by the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement. After this, the organization’s fighters entered the border areas in southern Israel, where they opened fire on both military and civilians, and also took more than 200 hostages. In Israel, according to the latest data from the authorities, about 1.2 thousand people were killed, this number includes civilians, soldiers, foreign citizens and workers, and it was also reported that more than 5 thousand were injured.
In response, the Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Iron Swords against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Within a few days, the Israeli military took control of all populated areas near the border with Gaza and began carrying out air strikes on targets, including civilians, in the strip. Israel also announced a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip: the supply of water, food, electricity, medicine, and fuel was stopped. At the end of October, the ground phase of the Israeli operation in the enclave began. Gaza City was surrounded by Israeli ground forces, and the enclave was effectively divided into southern and northern parts.
The death toll due to Israeli shelling of the Gaza Strip since October 7, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, has increased to 25.9 thousand, more than 64 thousand were injured.
Hamas claimed that there were about 200-250 hostages in the Gaza Strip. After the end of the truce, Israeli authorities announced that 126 Israelis and 11 foreigners remained hostage from Hamas, and 110 abducted were released.
The Russian Foreign Ministry called on the parties to stop hostilities. According to the position of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the settlement of the Middle East crisis is possible only on the basis of a “two-state” formula approved by the UN Security Council, which provides for the creation of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with its capital in East Jerusalem.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict, related to the territorial interests of the parties, has been a source of tension and clashes in the region for many decades. A UN decision with the active role of the USSR in 1947 determined the creation of two states — Israel and Palestine, but only the Israeli one was created.