Israel must not not be “consumed with rage” as it responds to Hamas’ October 7 infiltration of southern Israel, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said during a visit to southern Israel to see the charred ruins of the communities Hamas had attacked and destroyed.
“I understand your fears and pain. I understand the fears and pain of the people that have been attacked, slaughtered, kidnapped. I understand your rage. But let me ask you not to be consumed by rage.
"I think that is what the best friends of Israel can tell you, because what makes the difference between a civilized society and a terrorist group is the respect for human life,” Borrell said.
Arriving after Al-Shifa was explored
He arrived on the 41st day of the war, as the international concern continue to grow over the IDF’s activities in Al-Shifa hospital to remove Hamas weapons and search for signs of the hostages. The growing fatality count which has Hamas has asserted is over 11,000 plus the sight of IDF soldiers in hospitals wards, has drawn international condemnation.
Prior to his arrival, Borrell had posted on X of his “deep distress over the horrible situation and dramatic loss of life in several hospital in Gaza” as he called for an “immediate humanitarian pause’ to the fighting.
Borrell, a former foreign minister of Spain, has been known for his harsh statements against Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians and his strong support for a two-state resolution to the conflict. Earlier this week he said the European Union should be more involved in turning such a vision into a reality.
During a meeting with Foreign Minister Eli Cohen at the Eshkol Regional Council on Thursday afternoon, he urged Israel not to confuse the Palestinian people with Hamas which on October 7 killed over 1,200 people in southern Israel and seized over 239 hostage.
Hamas “does not represent the Palestinian people. One thing is Hamas, another thing is the Palestinian people.”
“We know that war is horrible, and what we have seen here [in southern Israel] is horrible. I am old enough in order to have seen many horrible places in the world [affected] by wars.”
He noted that he was sitting so far from Gaza, whose 2.7 million residents were feeling the harsh impact of Israel military campaign to oust Hamas from the enclave.
“Not far from here is Gaza. One horror does not justify another,” Borrell said.
“Innocent civilians, including thousands of children, have died in the past weeks. We also know that people are also forced to leave their houses and need assistance. They need food, water, fuel, and protection,” Borrell stated.
"Israel has to be defended,” Borrell said as he pointed to Thursday’s Hamas terror attack on Route 60 in the Gush Etzion region of the West Bank, in which one soldiers was killed and five others wounded.
“Even today, another terrorist attack has happened in Israel. So, it is an everyday fight,” Borrell said.
Two principles, however, can be correct at the same time, he explained.
“But one thing is to defend Israel, and another thing is to take care of the people in need. This is why the EU, together with supporting” Israel rights to self-defense “is also asking for humanitarian assistance for food, water, fuel and protection,” Borrel said.
An ad hoc system established at Egypt's Rafah crossing has allowed for the entry of humanitarian aid, but much more s needed.
“The EU and the United Nations have continued to call for a continued, rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access [in Gaza] and aid to reach those in need through all necessary measures including humanitarian corridors and pauses for humanitarian needs,” Borrell stated.
The EU foreign policy chief spoke after he donned a flake jacket and visited Kibbutz Be’eri together with Cohen, who showed him the bombs out and burned homes in the community, where close to 100 people were killed and others taken hostages by Hamas on October 7.
Borrell said it was a visit that brought back memories for him, as he recalled the summer he spent in Israel on the southern Kibbutz of Gal On, where he met his former wife, a French woman Caroline Mayeur with whom he had two children.
He referenced his son, explaining that he had a child who spoke Hebrew.
“When I entered in this ravaged school, when I entered in these stormed houses, I felt the ambiance [from] more than 40 years ago. I felt the ambiance of what a Kibbutz is, what the Kibbutz has been in the history of Israel, and what the Kibbutz represents today for you,” he said.
“The world is enduring a moment of profound suffering,” Borrell stated.
“I am here to share your grief, to share your pain and to stress the European Union’s solidarity with the Israeli people,” Borrell said.
“Certainly, nothing justifies what the terrorists from Hamas did here and in other places on the 7th of October.
“Nothing justifies abducting women, children, and elderly people from their homes and taking them hostages into Gaza.
“Once again, in the name of the European Union, I ask for their immediate and unconditional release,” Borrell said.
The EU, he said, “has condemned the action of Hamas in the strongest possible terms’ and “unequivocally” supports Israel’s right to self-defense, “in line with international law and with international humanitarian law.”
“We will not be able to bring [to] life [the] dead, but we can give freedom to the hostages,” Borrell stated.
“The best homage that we can give to the memory of the victims is to think about how to prevent these horrors to happen ever again,” he said,
But he clarified, “all human lives have the same value” and its important looking to the future to move toward a two-state resolution to the conflict.
“Ultimately, security can only come from peace. I know that you are now consumed by pain and sorrow but at a certain moment, we will have to see how this war ends and how we can create a better future. A future that Israel deserves because the Jewish people deserve to live in security. They have endured too much during centuries.
What is needed is “A sustainable solution that can give to Israel the right to live in peace and security, living side by side with others – with the Palestinians and the Arab countries,” Borrell stated.