EU Edges Towards Call for Pause in Israel-Hamas War but Doubts Persist

Palestinian children receive food at a UN-run school in Rafah, on the southern Gaza Strip on October 23, 2023 amid ongoing battles between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
Palestinian children receive food at a UN-run school in Rafah, on the southern Gaza Strip on October 23, 2023 amid ongoing battles between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
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EU Edges Towards Call for Pause in Israel-Hamas War but Doubts Persist

Palestinian children receive food at a UN-run school in Rafah, on the southern Gaza Strip on October 23, 2023 amid ongoing battles between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
Palestinian children receive food at a UN-run school in Rafah, on the southern Gaza Strip on October 23, 2023 amid ongoing battles between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

The European Union edged on Monday towards endorsing a "humanitarian pause" in the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas even as some member governments signaled reservations about the idea.

Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief, said he backed a call by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for a break in the conflict to allow much more humanitarian aid to reach Palestinian civilians in the besieged Gaza Strip.

EU officials also drafted a statement in support of the proposal for an EU summit later this week, although they cautioned the text could still change in the coming days.

The moves reflected increasing alarm about the fate of Palestinian civilians after two weeks of Israel bombarding and blockading Gaza in response to the Oct. 7 Hamas assault that killed 1,400 people and took more than 200 hostage.

More than 5,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes, according to the enclave's health ministry, and about 1.4 million of Gaza's 2.3 million population are now internally displaced, according to the United Nations.

Two aid convoys - one of 20 trucks, the other of 14 - entered Gaza over the weekend from Egypt at the Rafah crossing, according to officials. But aid workers said this was a fraction of the aid that would go into Gaza even in normal times.

"Now the most important thing is for humanitarian support to go into Gaza," Borrell told reporters on arrival at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.

EU members including France, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Slovenia and Luxembourg have also backed the idea.

"There's a vital need to get water, to get food, to get medical supplies into Gaza," said Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin. "The degree of human suffering is immense. We have to distinguish between the civilians of Gaza and Hamas."

But some other ministers openly expressed reservations about the proposal or avoided a direct answer when asked about it.

The divergence in views broadly reflected longstanding differences within the EU over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with those seen as more sympathetic to Palestinians pushing for a pause while staunch allies of Israel were more reluctant.

Asked why Germany had not backed calls for a humanitarian ceasefire, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said recent days had shown the importance of getting aid into Gaza but had also made clear that Hamas was continuing to attack Israel.

"We’ve all seen that the terrorism continues non-stop, that massive rocket attacks against Israel are taking place," she said. "We can't end the humanitarian catastrophe when the terrorism from Gaza continues."

Some questioned whether a pause would impede Israel's right to defend itself as it seeks to destroy Hamas positions in Gaza.

“Of course, everyone would wish that the violence comes to an end. But Israel has the right to self-defense," said Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg.

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky questioned "how such a ceasefire should be established with a partner inside Gaza, where the Hamas terrorist organization now is controlling the situation".



Drone Attack Halts Oil Output at Sarsang Field in Iraqi Kurdistan

An oil field in Dibis area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq (File Photo: Reuters)
An oil field in Dibis area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq (File Photo: Reuters)
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Drone Attack Halts Oil Output at Sarsang Field in Iraqi Kurdistan

An oil field in Dibis area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq (File Photo: Reuters)
An oil field in Dibis area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq (File Photo: Reuters)

A drone attack halted production at the Sarsang oilfield in Iraq’s Kurdistan region on Tuesday only hours before its US operator signed a deal to develop another field.

The Sarsang field is operated by HKN Energy, a privately held US oil and gas company active in Iraq’s Kurdistan region and owned by Hillwood Energy, part of the Hillwood group founded by Ross Perot Jr.

Two hours after the morning attack, HKN Vice President Matthew Zais was in Baghdad with Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani to sign a preliminary agreement to develop the Himreen oilfield in northern Iraq, the oil ministry said, Reuters reported.

The signing ceremony was also attended by US Ambassador Steven Fagin, whose embassy condemned the drone attacks on oil infrastructure in the Kurdistan region and urged the Iraqi government to investigate and hold those responsible accountable.

Washington said such attacks undermine Iraq’s sovereignty and efforts to attract foreign investment.

Production at the Sarsang field was halted as a precautionary measure after an explosion, two engineers told Reuters.

Kurdistan regional authorities confirmed that the blast was from a drone attack.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Iraqi Kurdistan security sources said that initial investigations suggested that the drone came from areas under the control of Iran-backed militias.

Heavy plumes of smoke were seen rising from the Sarsang field in the Dohuk region of northern Iraq, said one oil engineer at the field.

Field operator HKN said that the halt to production was to allow firefighters to extinguish the fire, later adding that emergency response teams contained the damage.

There were no casualties, Iraqi Kurdistan's ministry of natural resources and HKN said.

The incident is under investigation and a full assessment of the damage has been initiated, the company said without providing further detail on the cause of the explosion.

On Monday two drones fell on the Khurmala oilfield near Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, damaging the water pipes at the field.