The Prime Minister, António Costa, downplayed this Thursday the divergences within the European Union (EU) regarding the terminology used, between the pause and the humanitarian ceasefire, to request humanitarian aid in Gaza, pointing out that it is necessary guarantee “the conditions for them to exist.”
“Let’s not get bogged down in the terminology. The essential thing is that the conditions are created so that humanitarian aid can exist,” declared the head of Government in Brussels.
Arriving at the European Council, which took place at a time of intense bombing from Tel Aviv against the Gaza Strip, following the attack by the Islamist group Hamas on October 7, António Costa stressed that the EU “obviously recognizes the right to Israel respond militarily in a way that destroys Hamas’s offensive capabilities, that is clear.”
“Now, we cannot confuse Hamas with the Palestinian people, nor with all the people living in Gaza, and we cannot cause collateral damage in a military operation against Hamas in what would be a humanitarian tragedy for the entire population of Gaza. Strip of Gaza,” he highlighted.
For this reason, “it is necessary to create conditions because, obviously, there cannot be humanitarian aid above the bombings,” he insisted.
“It is necessary, whether it is a ceasefire or this new form of humanitarian pause, to create the conditions so that humanitarian support can be effective and not be hindered by ongoing military actions,” said António Costa.
“We all have to understand each other to reach a common position,” he stressed.
EU leaders meet today and Friday in Brussels to discuss tensions in the Middle East, aiming for a humanitarian pause in Gaza and negotiations on a two-state solution, as well as European challenges such as migration and the budget .
One of the objectives is for this summit to lead to a common position among the 27 heads of Government and State of the EU to guarantee humanitarian support to the Gaza Strip, which is why the latest draft of conclusions, to which Lusa had access , states that “humanitarian access and aid must be carried out quickly, safely and without obstacles, through all necessary measures, including humanitarian corridors and pauses.”
This formulation “humanitarian pause” comes after the previous version of the draft conclusions included the expression in the singular, without ever having foreseen a call for a “ceasefire”.
The call for a humanitarian pause in Gaza meets consensus among member states, but Portugal, for example, has already admitted that it preferred an EU position to defending a humanitarian ceasefire, not accepted by countries like Germany.
Source: TSF
