JAKARTA - Head of EU Foreign Policy Kaja Kallas on Tuesday urged Israel to take concrete action to defuse the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, warning it was ready to respond if it failed to fulfill its commitments.
Speaking at a news conference following a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Belgium, Kallas said the bloc would closely monitor the implementation of promises agreed by Israel, with compliance updates every two weeks.
Kallas stressed that the ceasefire and release of hostages remained the top priority of the European Union ministers.
"At the request of the Council of Europe, I also conveyed to the ministers the various steps that can be taken regarding the review conducted in June. So, we discussed this, and these are options that member countries must take. We will continue to consider these options and are ready to act if Israel does not fulfill its promises," Kallas said, launching Daily Sabah July 16.
"The goal is not to punish Israel. The goal is to really improve the situation in Gaza," he stressed.
Earlier, Kallas last Thursday announced it was reaching an agreement with Israel to improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, including adding aid trucks and opening crossing points and certain relief routes.
"This agreement means more crossings are opened, aid and food trucks enter Gaza, improvement of vital infrastructure, and protection for aid workers. We rely on Israel to implement every agreed step," Kallas said, quoted by Politico.
On Monday, Kallas said there were some good signs of more trucks and aid supplies arriving in Gaza, but it wanted to see more improvements in the field.
However, Egypt's Foreign Minister on the same day said the flow of aid to the Gaza Strip, Palestine did not increase despite last week's agreement between the European Union and Israel that should have resulted in this.
"Nothing has changed (on the pitch)," said Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, quoted by Reuters.
Meanwhile, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi when asked if there was any improvement after the agreement told reporters the situation in Gaza was still "catastropic".
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"There was a real disaster that occurred in Gaza due to the continuing siege of Israel," he stressed.
Foreign Minister Safadi said Israel had allowed 40 to 50 trucks to enter a few days ago from Jordan, but that was "far from sufficient" for the trapped enclave.
It is known that Israel's ongoing military operations and blockades have left the entire population of Gaza, which amounts to 2.3 million people facing acute food insecurity, with nearly half a million people at risk of starvation by the end of September, according to a joint United Nations report last month.
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