In a joint statement about the ongoing conflict in Gaza, the EU27 called for an immediate pause in hostilities and the opening of a humanitarian corridor into Gaza, Sunday night, while urging Israel to show the utmost restraint in its military campaign.

“As EU & its 27 member states, we are gravely concerned about the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza”, the head of the EU Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell said.

“We call for immediate pauses in hostilities and the establishment of humanitarian corridors, so that humanitarian aid can safely reach the population of Gaza”, he stressed expressing satisfaction over the fact that the EU27 had managed to approve the joint statement despite their disparate vote at the UN recently.

The EU Foreign Ministers condemned Hamas for using unarmed civilians as “human shields”, expressing their concern for the situation in Gaza, especially in hospitals.

Borell said the besieged population in Gaza was in dire need of water, food and fuel supplies, already available on the Gaza-Israeli border waiting for the go-ahead to cross into the conflict zone, as he said.

The Ministers are set to discuss on Monday the Russian-Ukraine conflict and the group’s military support to Ukraine, in light of the onset of winter. The EU has so far provided military aid worth 27 billion euros.