Top diplomat slams EU for inaction against 'US mercenaries' killing starving Palestinians
Former chief diplomat of the European Commission, Josep Borrell, has decried the killing of “550 starving Palestinians” by “US mercenaries” at aid points operated by the US-Israeli Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
In a statement on X on Thursday, the Spanish former minister slammed the EU for remaining “unwilling to take any action against these crimes”.
In May, Borell, who served as the EU’s foreign policy chief from 2019 to 2024, made headlines for stating that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza, describing the Israeli government’s actions as “the largest ethnic-cleansing operation since the end of the Second World War”.
Borell’s latest comments come amid growing international outrage over the controversial GHF aid distribution sites, which have been described as “death traps” by officials from the UN and Save the Children, among others.
Over 600 Palestinians have been killed while queuing at GHF sites as of May, according to UN data.
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On Wednesday, AP revealed that American contractors used live ammunition on Palestinians at GHF sites. This followed reports in Israeli media of Israeli troops admitting to deliberately shooting and killing aid seekers.
Last week, 15 international human rights and legal organisations called for the suspension of GHF’s operations due to possible complicity in war crimes.
On Thursday, the Gaza government media office released a statement from the interior ministry “warning against dealing or cooperating" with the GHF.
Describing the distribution centres as “mass death traps” and “centres of humiliation”, the ministry called on citizens to refrain from working with or cooperating with the foundation.
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