Israeli military captures Palestinian side of Rafah crossing: Live updates

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, rings a bell to signify the start of a meeting of EU foreign and development ministers at the European Council building in Brussels, Belgium, on May 7, to discuss the humanitarian aspects and reconstruction in Gaza.

Virginia Mayo/AP

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, added his voice to mounting criticism against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday for ignoring international demands against an attack on Rafah, which has become a new focal point in the seven-month war.

Despite Hamas agreeing to a draft ceasefire deal, Netanyahu has vowed to go ahead with an attack on the city. Israeli forces have taken control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, a vital entry point for aid to Gaza on the Egyptian border.

The move is short of Netanyahu’s threatened full-scale operation on Rafah, but Borrell described it as a land offensive.

“The land offensive against Rafah has started again, in spite of all of the requests of the international community — the US, the European Union member states — everyone asking Netanyahu not to attack Rafah,” the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy said in a briefing Tuesday.

“In spite of these warnings and these requests, the attack started yesterday night. I am afraid that this is going to cause again a lot of casualties, civilian casualties, whatever they say. There are 600,000 children in Gaza. They will be pushed to so-called ‘safety zones’ — there are no safe zones in Gaza.”

Earlier on Tuesday, the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council’s (NRC) operations in Gaza, Suze van Meegen, made similar remarks, telling CNN: “Not only is there nowhere safe to go, for many people there’s also no way to get there. ”

Borrell also described the lack of agreement on a ceasefire as “sad news,” adding: “Hamas accepted, Israel rejected.”