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• 'In the last couple of days, we lost 29 innocent children and elderly,' Majed Abu Ramadan says, describing them as 'starvation-related deaths'

GENEVA

Palestinian Health Minister Majed Abu Ramadan on Thursday welcomed EU's decision to review a pact governing its political and economic ties with Israel, calling it "a very important start" to end the Gaza war.

"Supporting the Palestinian cause and also putting pressure -- political, economic, or financial -- on Israel because of the breach of humanitarian law, of course, will end [the war]," Abu Ramadan said in response to Anadolu's question at an Association of Accredited Correspondents at the United Nations (ACANU) media briefing in Geneva.

"You need to get momentum. You need to add all components together in order to force Israel to take the position of accepting to end the war," he said. "I think it’s a very important effort and very important start."

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday that the bloc will review a pact governing its political and economic ties with Israel due to the "catastrophic" situation in Gaza. The European Parliament held a plenary session to discuss the EU-Israel Association Agreement on Wednesday.

Abu Ramadan also warned of a deepening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, especially for the most vulnerable. "In the last couple of days, we lost 29 innocent children and the elderly," he said, responding to Anadolu and described them as "starvation-related deaths."

Asked by Anadolu regarding the UN humanitarian affairs chief's recent remarks that 14,000 babies could die within 48 hours without aid, he said: "The number 14,000 is very realistic, may be even underestimated."

Asked whether a recent attack on a diplomatic delegation in the occupied West Bank may have been triggered by growing international condemnation of Israel's actions -- which some European leaders have labeled as potential genocide -- Palestinian ambassador to UN Office in Geneva Ibrahim Khraishi, who was also part of the briefing -- told Anadolu that that could be the case.

"Maybe," he said, suggesting that such attacks might have been intended to intimidate or deter further global pressure.

Israeli forces on Wednesday fired warning shots at an international diplomatic delegation visiting the Jenin refugee camp, forcing them to run to their vehicles and flee the area. The military claimed the group deviated from an “approved route.”

Israel has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 53,800 Palestinians, most of them women and children. It resumed this week the entry of limited humanitarian aid into the enclave after a two-month blockade, which the UN says is not enough to meet the needs of the population.