BRUSSELS — EU leaders have agreed to call for “pauses for humanitarian needs” to allow aid into Gaza, after days of discussions on how to phrase a call for breaks in the fighting between Israel and Hamas.
At a summit in Brussels, the leaders came up with a compromise text that condemns Hamas’ attack and backs Israel’s right to defend itself “in line with international law.” It also calls for access to aid “including humanitarian corridors and pauses for humanitarian needs.”
It followed a complex diplomatic waltz by EU diplomats over the last few days. The exact language in the summit’s conclusions was hard-fought due to historic sensitivities between EU countries on the war between Israel and Hamas. A line on a “humanitarian pause” (singular) was too sensitive for some EU countries.
The text does, however, include mention of a “Peace Day Effort.”
The final draft “supports the holding of an international peace conference soon” — a line that was not in a draft distributed earlier on Thursday. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez had called for such a conference.
Earlier on Wednesday, one EU diplomat, granted anonymity to speak freely, said that Spain had asked for changes to the summit conclusions.
