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Mahmoud Abbas has urged Hamas to speed a hostage-prisoner exchange with Israel to spare Gazans further “catastrophe”. Elsewhere, the IDF has released footage it claims shows the underground dwelling of the Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
Irish and Spanish leaders urge EU to review Israel’s human rights compliance in Gaza
The Spanish and Irish prime ministers have asked the European Commission to urgently review whether Israel is complying with its human rights obligations in Gaza.
The leaders said in a joint letter published on the Spanish government website that they were “deeply concerned at the deteriorating situation in Israel and in Gaza”.
“The expanded Israeli military operation in the Rafah area poses a grave and imminent threat that the international community must urgently confront,” they said.
“We also recall the horror of 7 October, and call for the release of all hostages and an immediate ceasefire that can facilitate access for urgently needed humanitarian supplies.”
The EU Commission has confirmed it has received the letter.
Two weeks ago Leo Varadkar, the Irish prime minister, said he was in talks with other EU heads of governments to review the EU Israel Association Agreement on the basis that Israel may be breaching the agreement’s human rights clause.
The 23-year-old agreement sets out a framework for free trade in goods, services and capital, based on “respect for human rights and democratic principles”.