On Monday 13 October, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, announced that the European Union Border Assistance Mission for the Rafah Crossing Point (EUBAM Rafah) would be resuming on “Wednesday”, while the implementation of the initial provisions of the ‘Trump plan’ for peace in the Gaza Strip enabled the release of the 20 living Israeli hostages (and several dead hostages) still held by the terrorist organisation Hamas.
“This mission can play an important role in supporting the ceasefire”, said Ms Kallas on X, who was in Kyiv on Monday (see other news).
The reopening of this crossing point will allow entry into the Gaza Strip and exit to Egypt for people who have been given the green light by the parties, particularly for medical reasons, said a spokesperson of the European External Action Service (EEAS), Anouar El Anouni.
On social networks, the Presidents of the European Council, António Costa, the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, welcomed the release of the Israeli hostages and the personal involvement of US President, Donald Trump, hoping that this step would mark the beginning of a lasting peace in the Middle East. None of them mentioned the simultaneous release of just under 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
Mr Costa was the only head of an EU institution to travel on Monday to Sharm El-Sheikh (Egypt), where a summit of world leaders was held to formalise the peace agreement, in the presence of Donald Trump and the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, but in the absence of the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to Mr Costa, “today’s collective pledge brings us one step closer to a lasting peace, grounded on the two-State solution, with Israelis and Palestinians living side by side, leaving no place for terrorism”. “Now we must make sure that all the parties contribute constructively to the implementation of the plan”, he added on X.
The initial phase of the ‘Trump plan’ aims to establish a permanent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, free all hostages and ensure the full restoration of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
When asked by Agence Europe about the level of humanitarian aid currently entering Gaza, the European Commission was unable to give a precise answer or confirm the figure of 250 lorries of humanitarian aid delivered daily to the Gaza Strip, recently put forward by the Israeli authorities.
Mr El Anouni pointed out that the EU was the leading supplier of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, amounting to €500 million since October 2023, and the leading donor to the Palestinian Authority, providing €1.6 billion over the 2025-2027 period.
The European Union, which was not directly involved in negotiating the peace agreement, hopes to play a part in its implementation, drawing on its material resources and expertise in stabilising post-conflict territories. In particular, it aspires to sit on the ‘Board for Peace’ of the entity envisaged in the ‘Trump plan’ to temporarily manage the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
“Europe has an important role to play and we want to be part of it”, confirmed Mr El Anouni, adding that the Palestinian Authority will also have to play an important role in the administration of the Gaza Strip, once Hamas has handed over power and weapons.
In a statement adopted on behalf of the EU27 on Friday 10 October, the High Representative stated that “the EU stands ready to contribute to the implementation of the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict through the variety of the tools at its disposal”. She added that the EU would continue to support the “unimpeded” delivery of humanitarian aid “working closely with the UN agencies and international NGOs, and in accordance with international law”; it “stands ready to contribute to Gaza’s stabilisation and reconstruction” through the ‘EUBAM Rafah’ and ‘EUPOL COPPS’ missions, and will continue to support the Palestinian Authority, “including in its ongoing reform, and in view of its return to Gaza”.
See the EU statement: https://aeur.eu/f/ixo
As for the possible withdrawal of the Commission's proposals to sanction Israel for violating the human rights clauses of its agreement with the European Union, EU Commission's spokesperson Paula Pinho admitted that these proposals had been put on the table in a certain context that has since changed. ‘But we are not there yet,’ she said. The Foreign Affairs Council meeting on Monday 20 October in Luxembourg will provide an initial opportunity to discuss this issue. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)