European Council President Antonio Costa said he was shocked by the situation in the Gaza Strip, which is the subject of a new Israeli offensive, BNR reported.
"I am shocked by the news from Gaza. Starving civilians, destroyed hospitals. The violence must stop!", Costa wrote on the social network X.
Earlier, it was reported that Israel and Hamas had resumed peace talks in Qatar. According to Palestinian health authorities, at least 146 people were killed on the third day of the resumption of Israeli air strikes on Gaza territory. Hundreds were injured, and the number of people buried under the collapsed buildings remains unknown.
Following US President Donald Trump's visit to the Middle East earlier this week, Israel announced the start of a new ground operation in Gaza, dubbed "Gideon's Chariot". Humanitarian aid access to Gaza has been blocked, raising international concerns about the fate of the more than two million Palestinians there.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the situation in Gaza, Agence France-Presse reported, citing a State Department statement.
This was the second phone call between them in the past three days.
Rubio and Netanyahu discussed the situation in Gaza on Saturday evening and their joint efforts to secure the release of all remaining prisoners held by the "Hamas" group. hostages.
The Israeli military said it had killed a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank who was part of a group suspected of involvement in the attack that killed a pregnant Israeli settler this week, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Israeli Tzilla Gez was shot on Wednesday near the settlement of Bruhin and was pronounced dead at a hospital, where her baby was later delivered by cesarean section.
The military said several men suspected of involvement in the attack were detained in the West Bank.
During the operation, one of the suspects "was identified running towards the forces while holding a backpack that was believed to contain a bomb," the military said.
"In response to the immediate threat, soldiers eliminated" the suspect, they added.
Earlier this week, Israeli forces said they had killed five Palestinian militants in the West Bank.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called on Israel to end its military offensive in Gaza, stressing that Palestinian civilians should no longer bear the brunt of the war, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
""We must tell the Israeli government "enough""," Tajani said before meeting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Rome today. "We do not want to see the suffering of the Palestinians any longer. Stop the attacks, ensure a ceasefire, release the hostages, and let a people who are already victims of "Hamas" live in peace," he added.
His remarks came shortly after the Israeli army announced it was expanding its military operations in the Gaza Strip. According to Palestinian health authorities, at least 146 people have been killed in Israeli air strikes in the past 24 hours alone.
The German Foreign Ministry said today that Israel's new large-scale offensive against the Palestinian Islamist group "Hamas" in the Gaza Strip was a cause for "serious concern" - both regarding Israel's strategic goals and the humanitarian situation, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
In its statement, the ministry noted that Israel, like any other country, has the right to defend itself.
„But the current actions could endanger the lives of the remaining hostages, including the Germans, who after almost 600 days still fear for their survival in the dungeons of „Hamas“, the statement said.
It states that for this reason, Foreign Minister Johan Vaddeful held another telephone conversation with his Israeli counterpart today. Vaddeful continues to maintain close contacts with other regional partners, his office said.
Israel has been at war in the Gaza Strip for more than a year and a half, DPA recalls. The conflict was sparked by the massacre carried out by “Hamas“ on October 7, 2023. For weeks, a new major offensive had been expected, and last night the Israeli military announced that it had launched an operation called “Gideon's Chariots“.