Belgian King Philippe said Europe must “show stronger leadership” about the Gaza crisis, adding that “the current situation has been going too long” and “a dishonor to humanity.”
The Belgian head of state made a comment in a speech on Sunday ahead of the national public holiday on July 21. He said Belgium supports a call by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on “an immediate end to this inbearable crisis.”
The Enclave Health Ministry said at least 73 people died on Sunday while trying to get assistance across Gaza, according to their scores at Jikim, which crosses Israel north of the territory. More than 150 people reportedly were injured.
That follows the deaths of at least 32 people on Saturday as witnesses said Israeli forces shot and killed Palestinians seeking food from a distribution outlet run by the Humanitarian Foundation. The group is supported by the US and Israel and has led humanitarian efforts in Gaza since May, but as of July 13, 674 people have been killed near distribution sites.
Pope Leo XIV added his voice to the protest on Sunday, saying, “I will once again end the wildness of this war immediately.” Last Thursday, Israeli artillery fire struck Gaza’s only Catholic church, killing three people, urging the pope to “prohibit (and) indiscriminate use of force.”
However, weekend violence in Gaza did not elicit public responses from the EU’s top brass. Previous Tuesday, the EU foreign minister at Brussels rejected Israeli sanctions on acts of war despite the human rights situation in Gaza, which EU senior representative Kaja Kallas described as “devastating.”
“We don’t have a ceasefire, which is why it’s extremely difficult to provide that aid,” Karas said after the Foreign Affairs Council on July 15th. “But we don’t know how far the ceasefire is, so we really need to work to help people (from what was agreed on).”