Hamas-Israel conflict: France, Spain oppose stopping aid to Palestinians

10/10/2023 16:04

On October 10, the French Foreign Ministry said that the country did not approve of the suspension of aid that directly benefits the Palestinians in response to the recent outbreak of violence between Hamas and Israel.

Palestinians flee their homes in the Gaza Strip on October 9, 2023, after the conflict between Hamas and Israel escalated.

“We do not support the suspension of aid that directly benefits the Palestinians and we made this clear to the European Commission yesterday,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

On the same day, Spanish Acting Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares affirmed that the Spanish government opposes the proposal to suspend European Union (EU) aid to the Palestinian territories.

In an interview with Spanish radio station Cadena SER, Mr. Albares said that the Palestinian territories may need more aid in the coming time after the conflict between Hamas and Israel broke out. He stressed the need to continue to cooperate with the Palestinian side and "not to confuse Hamas with the Palestinian people, the Palestinian Authority or the United Nations organizations there."

EU foreign ministers will meet to discuss the issue later on October 10 after EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi announced on social media that the EU had suspended all development aid to Palestine. However, the European Commission (EC) has confirmed that it has not suspended but is reviewing aid to the Palestinian territories.

* Meanwhile, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby confirmed that the US has begun delivering urgently needed weapons and military equipment to Israel. The US Department of Defense is also assessing the situation of its stockpiles to transfer more weapons to Israel. However, in response to questions from reporters about the possibility of the US sending troops to support Israel, Mr. Kirby affirmed that Washington has no intention of intervening militarily in Israel.

On the same day, the US State Department announced that in a phone call with his Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed support for Israel.

In a separate statement, the US State Department said Secretary Blinken also spoke with French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna and again expressed his condemnation of the conflict between Hamas and Israel.

On October 10, the Israeli military (IDF) announced that Israeli aircraft had struck more than 200 Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip overnight, especially in the city of Khan Yunis and the Rimal area.

IDF spokesman Major General Daniel Hagari said the army has re-established control over the border with the Gaza Strip and planted mines in the area where Hamas forces breached a section of the concrete wall and barbed wire fence to infiltrate Israel on October 7. The IDF is currently working to restore the wall and border fence. The Israeli army has sealed off the Gaza Strip and is preparing to launch a major offensive in the area.

The Israeli military also said it had found about 1,500 bodies of Hamas members in Israel near the Gaza Strip.

Health authorities in the Gaza Strip said at least 704 Palestinians have been killed and about 3,900 injured since fighting broke out on the morning of October 7. Meanwhile, Israel reported more than 900 people were killed and at least 2,600 injured.

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