European External Action Service

12/19/2023 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 12/19/2023 02:29

Response to the petition on “Protecting International Law and the Geneva Convention”

PRINT

Response to the petition on "Protecting International Law and the Geneva Convention"

To all the signatories of the petition "Protecting International Law and the Geneva Convention"

Dear Petitioner,

Thank you for your message.

The EU condemned in the strongest possible terms Hamas and its brutal and indiscriminate terrorist attacks across Israel and deeply deplores the loss of life. We were clear that Israel had the right to defend itself in line with humanitarian and international law, and reiterated the importance of ensuring the protection of all civilians at all times.

The EU has voiced its gravest concern for the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza and the increasing number of civilians killed. At the highest level the EU has been calling for full humanitarian access and immediate humanitarian pauses. The EU quadrupled humanitarian assistance to 100 million euro. The EU also launched an EU Humanitarian Air Bridge operation consisting of several flights to Egypt to deliver lifesaving supplies to humanitarian organisations in Gaza.
We will continue to work in particular with UN agencies and partners to facilitate humanitarian access to affected areas and cross-border assistance. The EU will also continue to support the efforts to release the hostages until all of them are released.

Yours sincerely.