EU urges Israel to reopen Gaza crossings and grant immediate aid access after floods

The European Union has pressed Israel to reopen all border crossings into Gaza and provide aid organizations with immediate, unimpeded access to deliver humanitarian relief, following severe flooding that has swept through the territory this week.

In a statement issued on Saturday by the office of Kaja Kallas, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Vice-President of the European Commission, the bloc stressed that civilian infrastructure and medical facilities in Gaza must be protected.

The appeal came on the same day that an Israeli drone attack killed two more Palestinians in Gaza. Mohamed Abu Selmiya, director of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City where the casualties were brought, said the drone hit the pair as they walked along a street in Jabaliya, on the northern edge of Gaza City. The American field hospital reported that several other people were wounded, though it gave no figure.

The Israeli military said it had struck two Hamas militants in the area.

The statement also referred to an Israeli air attack on Thursday at the Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza, which killed at least six Palestinians, among them a surgeon, and wounded dozens more. "The EU underlines the need to respect international law, including international humanitarian law, at all times," the 27-nation bloc said, adding that this covers the protection of civilians, civilian infrastructure and medical personnel and facilities. "The recent airstrike on the Nasser Hospital is deeply alarming," it said.

Local officials and the United Nations said this week that destruction of Gaza's infrastructure from Israeli attacks has aggravated flooding caused by heavy rain, leaving large parts of the enclave under water. According to Gaza's media office, more than 700km of the territory's sewage network has been destroyed.

The UN children's agency, UNICEF, said the heavy rain has directly affected at least 106,000 people in Gaza in recent days. Thousands of tents sheltering displaced Palestinians have been submerged, and latrines have overflowed into camps.

In response, the EU said that "Israel must enable the work of the UN and its agencies, and humanitarian organisations including NGOs, and comply with all its obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law."

The bloc also restated its commitment to the two-state solution and called for the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, alongside sustained distribution of humanitarian assistance and early recovery support at scale to address the deepening crisis in the territory.