On the evening of Wednesday 15 January, European leaders welcomed the announcement of a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages.
By 16 January, however, the agreement had already been undermined by Israeli allegations that Hamas was backtracking on certain elements of the agreement. The Israeli government still has to ratify the agreement, which comprises three phases. The first concerns a truce, which would begin on Sunday 19 January, the exchange of 33 Israeli hostages for 1,000 Palestinian prisoners over a period of 42 days and an increase in aid to Gaza.
On X, the President of the European Council, António Costa, said that the agreement “should allow for immediate access to much-needed humanitarian relief and create the conditions for Gaza’s recovery and reconstruction. The EU remains committed to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace, based on the two-state solution”, he stressed.
“Hostages will be reunited with their loved ones and humanitarian aid can reach civilians in Gaza”, said a delighted Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. On Thursday 16 January, the Commission announced a further €120 million in humanitarian aid for Gaza (see other news).
For her part, the Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica, promised that the EU remained “committed to supporting all efforts towards a long-lasting peace and recovery”. According to her mission statement, Ms Šuica is responsible for preparing a plan for the reconstruction of Gaza. Asked about this by Agence Europe, Commission spokesman Guillaume Mercier explained that the EU would be working with its international partners, including the Gulf States, “to find a procedure. It’s a long-term project, and it's going to be established little by little”, he added.
The European External Action Service spokesman Anouar Al Anouni, meanwhile, said that the EU – which was not involved in the process of negotiating the agreement – was ready to support the ceasefire and was updating its plans to redeploy the EUBAM Rafah mission – work begun under the previous High Representative (see EUROPE 13483/5). Any such redeployment will require the agreement of the Palestinian Authority, Egypt and Israel.
Coincidentally, the Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammad Mustafa, was in Brussels on Thursday 16 to meet the President of the European Council and the President of the European Parliament. On Friday 17 he will meet the High Representative of the Union.
On the evening of Monday 20 January, the European Parliament will debate “the ceasefire in Gaza, the urgent need to free the hostages, end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and pave the way for a two-state solution”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)