‘No excuse for hitting a hospital’ in Gaza: EU chief

Strasbourg, France – – AFP

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has said that there is “no excuse for hitting a hospital full of civilians” in Gaza, but did not apportion blame for the blast.

The European Commission president told EU lawmakers the “facts need to be established” on the the Gaza hospital strike.

Israel accused Palestine of the blast, which triggered street protests in the Middle East against Israel.

However, all evidence fails to establish any responsibility of any Palestinian group.

Yet Von der Leyen who has been unequivocally supporting Israel’s war, stopped short of blaming Israel. She said, “all those responsible must be held accountable”.

European Council President Charles Michel posted on social media that there was “no conceivable reason to strike a facility with innocent civilians and medical staff” and said such an attack “is not in line with international law”.

He too called for accountability.

Von der Leyen, who visited Israel last Friday in a show of solidarity, has been criticised by some European Union countries for perceived bias in favour of Israel at the expense of Palestinian civilians.

That prompted Michel to host a summit of EU leaders by videoconference late Tuesday which emphasised that Israel has the right to defend itself– but only in line with its commitments under international humanitarian law.

Israel has been relentlessly bombing Gaza for days, killing over 3,500 people, according to the health ministry in the besieged territory.

In her parliamentary address, von der Leyen said Hamas was the underlying reason for the ordeal Palestinians are now going through.

“Hamas are ‘terrorists’. And the Palestinian people are also suffering from that terror,” she said.

“Europe stands with Israel in this dark moment,” von der Leyen said, adding that “Israel should act as a democracy, in line with international humanitarian law.”