Germany on Monday urged Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, warning that the situation is becoming increasingly desperate.
Speaking to reporters in Brussels, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the sufferings of Palestinian civilians have become "unbearable," and renewed her call for an immediate cease-fire.
"In view of over 2 million people in Gaza, many, many children who have not had sufficient food for weeks, we finally need this humanitarian cease-fire," Baerbock told reporters, ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers.
"We are doing everything we can to achieve this, and as German Chancellor (Olaf Scholz) made clear in Israel this weekend, as friends of Israel we believe that the Israeli government must now finally ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches Gaza," the minister said.
Baerbock also noted that on Monday, EU foreign ministers will discuss sanctions against both Hamas and the radical Israeli settlers who have violently attacked Palestinians in the West Bank.
Earlier on Monday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell accused Israeli government of using starvation "as a weapon of war" and called on European countries to increase pressure on Tel-Aviv.
"In Gaza, we are no longer on the brink of famine, we are in a state of famine affecting thousands of people," Borrell told the European Humanitarian Forum 2024 in Brussels.
Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on Gaza since a cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed nearly 1,200 people.
More than 31,700 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in the enclave, and nearly 73,800 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.
The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza's population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water, and medicine, while 60%of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide, and guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
