The European Union strongly condemns recent declarations of Israeli Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich at the Katif Annual Conference.

Deliberate starvation of civilians is a war crime. Minister Smotrich saying that “it might be justified and moral” to let Israel “cause 2 million civilians to die of hunger” until the “hostages are returned” is beyond ignominious. It demonstrates, once again, his contempt for international law and for basic principles of humanity.

We expect the Israeli government to unequivocally distance itself from the words of Minister Smotrich, as well as to establish transparency on the reported acts of torture in the Sde Teiman prison.

The EU continues urging Israel to implement the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and binding orders of the International Court of Justice, and ensure full and unimpeded humanitarian access to cover the needs of scores of civilians, including hundreds of thousands of children, living in extremely dire conditions and exposed to famine and disease in Gaza.

The EU reiterates its call for an immediate ceasefire that leads to the release of all hostages and a significant and sustained increase in the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza.