THE European Union (EU) on Monday emphasized the need to “put pressure” to end the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza amid the blockade of humanitarian aid there.

Speaking at a presser during her working visit to the Philippines on Monday, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said some EU-funded aid to the besieged enclave is “also blocked now.”

“We are in contact with our counterparts in Israel to unblock this and to help the people, because it’s funded by the European Union, mostly, in a very large part,” she said. “The loss of life is untenable. The suffering of the people has to end and we need to do everything in our power to do and to put the pressure there.”

Israel eased the blockade on entry of aid into the Gaza Strip on May 18 after 11 weeks.

The United Nations (UN) on June 1 underscored the need for “safe and unhindered access” to bring aid into Gaza, saying the lifting of the blockade is the only way to “avert mass starvation, including among one million children.”

Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), had posted on X that aid distribution in Gaza “has become a death trap,” citing reports from international medical staff on the ground.

The UN logged at least 31 deaths and more than 150 injured among civilians lining up to receive aid from the Israel and United States-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which it said “bypasses existing aid agencies.”

Kallas, meanwhile, said the EU supports the two-state solution, end of hostilities, immediate ceasefire and the release of hostages from Gaza.

“And we are trying to push the parties into that agreement,” she said. Philippine News Agency