EU Commissioner for Equality and Acting Commissioner for Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib has said that she had planned to cross into Gaza during her visit to Egypt, but Israel did not grant her permission to enter.
Lahbib said Palestinians continued to be killed every day in Gaza and noted that since the recent ceasefire began, 347 Palestinians, including 67 children, had been killed.
She said she wanted to see the situation "firsthand," adding that Israel’s refusal "deeply saddened us."
She said Gaza had become a graveyard for thousands of people, including humanitarian workers, and cited estimates that around 600 aid workers had been killed.
"It has become the most dangerous place in the world," she said.
Disastrous winter is coming
With winter approaching, Lahbib said Palestinians had nowhere to go and no means to stay warm, warning that experts described the coming winter as likely to be "disastrous."
She stressed that the ceasefire must continue and that full compliance with international law was the only way to protect civilians.
She said the transition from the first to the second phase of the ceasefire framework was essential.
While the arrival of aid was a positive step, she said it still represented only a fraction of what was needed.
Lahbib urged Israel to allow humanitarian organisations to carry out their work, saying the approval process must be faster.
She criticised the designation of some relief items, such as tents and sleeping bags, as "dual-use" goods, calling the categorisation unacceptable.
She also said the EU had a responsibility to its taxpayers to ensure that assistance reached those who needed it, and stressed that Gaza must be supported to move beyond "survival mode" and begin rebuilding homes, schools and infrastructure.
