After the Brussels summit in October 2023, European leaders called for "humanitarian corridors and pauses" in the Gaza Strip to ensure the flow of humanitarian aid to the conflict-torn enclave, but did not call for a ceasefire.
"I am happy that the Council today is going to approve conclusions, which go much further than the first conclusions in October when we said humanitarian pauses [in Gaza]. Today, the Council goes much further, supporting UNRWA [the UN agency for Palestine refugees], asking for a sustainable ceasefire," Borrell said before the summit.
The top EU diplomat also expressed his hope that the council would "send a strong message" to Israel to persuade it to stop preventing food supplies from entering the enclave.
"The only way of stopping this humanitarian crisis, this human crisis, is Israel's respecting more the civilians and allowing more support to enter into Gaza," Borrell said.
The EU will call for the release of hostages still held in Gaza and condemn Hamas' attacks on Israel, but it will also express its serious concern regarding the situation that the civilian population of the enclave is currently in, he added.
Last October, Palestinian movement Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip and breached the border, killing 1,200 people and abducting around 240 others.
Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza, and started a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. Over 31,900 people have been killed so far in the Gaza Strip, local authorities said.