Meet Israeli Foreign Minister, EU Diplomat: I Understand Your Anger, But, One Horror Doesn't Justify Other Horrors

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen (left) with Josep Borrell (topy). (Source: Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs/RonenEMesh)

JAKARTA - The EU's top diplomat said it understood Israel's anger over the attack by the Hamas group, but asked not to be swallowed up in anger when meeting with the country's foreign ministers.

European Union Head of Foreign Policy Josep Borrell said this when he met Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, after the two visited Kibbutz Be'eri, the location of the attack carried out by Hamas last October 7.

"I understand your anger, but allow me to ask you not to be swallowed up by anger. I think that's what Israel's best friend can tell you," he said.

Speaking at the Eshkol Regional Council, Borrell again emphasized EU solidarity for Israel, as well as support for the country's right to self-defense in accordance with international law.

" DEFENDing Israel is one thing, paying attention to the needs of people in need is another thing."

"And that's why the European Union, apart from supporting the right to defend Israel, is also seeking humanitarian assistance, food, water, fuel, protection (for people in Gaza)," he said.

The state media office in Gaza on Wednesday announced that the death toll from the Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip increased to 11,500, including 4,710 children and 3,160 women.

"The number of deaths among medical personnel has reached 200 people," the office said in a statement on Telegram, quoted by Anadolu.

Meanwhile, the number of injured people reached 29,800 people, and about 70% of them were children and women.

Wednesday's statement also said 95 government buildings and 255 schools had been destroyed. A total of 74 mosques were completely destroyed and 162 were partially damaged, as well as three churches.

Meanwhile, Israel's death toll stands at 1,200, according to official figures.

Seeing the conditions, Borrell urged better conditions for civilians in the Gaza Strip

"One horror does not justify another horror," he said.

"Hamas must be defeated, but Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people," said Borrell.

Hamas officially came to power by winning the 2006 local elections in the Gaza Strip, and then overthrowing the leadership of the Palestinian Authority in the region through a 2007 bloody coup.

It is known that Borrell, who serves as the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy as well as Vice President of the European Commission, has spent the past year advancing talks with regional stakeholders to advance the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.