(CN) — The United States and the European Union on Thursday moved to call for an immediate cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war in a bid to halt the fighting in Gaza and ease the humanitarian catastrophe.
In separate but related developments, the U.S. said it had submitted a draft resolution in the United Nations Security Council calling for an immediate cease-fire while EU leaders meeting Thursday at a summit in Brussels said they were poised to issue their own plea for a truce.
Since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel, the EU has been deeply divided over its response to the eruption of violence and refrained from calling for a cease-fire. Meanwhile, the U.S. has vetoed three previous cease-fire resolutions in the Security Council.
But with the fighting worsening and humanitarian crisis growing ever more horrific in Gaza, American and European leaders appeared ready to apply more pressure on Israel to halt its assault on Gaza.
During an interview with the Saudi news channel Al Hadath on Wednesday, U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken said Washington had drafted a Security Council resolution calling for a cease-fire. Blinken is holding a new round of talks over Gaza with Arab leaders in the Middle East.
The resolution, which the U.S. has been working on for weeks, calls for “an immediate and sustained cease-fire” tied to “the release of all remaining hostages.”
In Brussels, EU leaders signed off on a declaration calling for "an immediate humanitarian pause leading to a sustainable cease-fire." The bloc said it was "appalled by the unprecedented loss of civilian lives and the critical humanitarian situation" in Gaza, which it described as “catastrophic" with "its disproportionate effect on civilians, particularly children, as well as the imminent risk of famine.”
On Thursday, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres traveled to Brussels to meet with European leaders and urged them to back a cease-fire.
He condemned Hamas for the October attack and for violations of international humanitarian law, but he also called the number of civilian casualties in Gaza “unprecedented in my time as secretary-general.”
“A basic principle of international humanitarian law is the protection of civilians,” he said. “We must stick to principles, in Ukraine as in Gaza, without double standards.”
The EU also said it condemned Hamas for its “brutal and indiscriminate terrorist attacks” and supported Israel’s right to defend itself. EU leaders added that they backed providing humanitarian aid throughout the Gaza Strip and supported sending aid to Gaza through a maritime route from Cyprus.
EU leaders said a cease-fire was urgent to prevent Israel from launching an assault on Rafah, a city on the border with Egypt in southern Gaza. More than one million Palestinians are sheltering there.
Josep Borrell, the EU's top foreign affairs diplomat, said the bloc's statement went further than a previous declaration in October calling for “humanitarian pauses” in the conflict.
Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, said the bloc wanted Israel to refrain from an offensive in Rafah because “a lot of people have gathered there and they have nowhere else to go.”
He added that the cease-fire was needed to “make sure that the conflict doesn’t spread to the wider region.”
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo called the situation in Gaza “dramatic.”
“We see today people feeding themselves by eating grass. People are on the verge of being in a famine,” De Croo said. “Europe needs to lead and not to follow. This time is the time for us to be clear. We need to demand an immediate cease-fire, to demand the liberation of the hostages, and put anyone on track on negotiations for a two-state solution.”
“What is happening today in Gaza is the failure of humanity, it is not a humanitarian crisis, it is the failure of humanity, it is not an earthquake, it is not a flood, it is bombing,” Borrell said.
He said Israel must show respect for civilians, many of whom are starving, and allow food, medicine and other aid to reach Gaza.
This week, a U.N. panel of experts warned of imminent famine in parts of Gaza and Volker Türk, U.N. human rights chief, said Israel may be committing a war crime by using “starvation as a method of war.”
Also Thursday, the U.N. released an analysis of satellite imagery showing that 35% of Gaza's buildings had been damaged or destroyed. More than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its attacks on Gaza following the Oct. 7 attack.
Courthouse News reporter Cain Burdeau is based in the European Union.
Follow @cainburdeau
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