From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, July 22, 2025
In call with EU counterpart, Sa’ar blames Hamas for mass casualty incidents at aid sites
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleNava Freiberg is The Times of Israel's deputy diplomatic correspondent.
Amid heightened concern over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar says he told European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas over the phone today that Hamas, not Israel, is to blame for mass casualty incidents near aid distribution sites in Gaza.
“Hamas is waging a campaign of lies, while deliberately creating friction between the civilian population, the aid distribution centers and the IDF,” Sa’ar says he told Kallas in a readout of the call on X.
“Hamas is the one shooting civilians and torturing them when they try to collect the aid,” according to the foreign minister.
He adds that while Israel agreed to the latest hostage release and ceasefire proposal, “Hamas is dragging its feet and sabotaging the negotiations, while continuing cruelly to hold our hostages. The international community must not fall into Hamas’s trap!”
Kallas said earlier today that “the killing of civilians seeking aid in Gaza is indefensible,” adding that she spoke with Sa’ar “to recall our understanding on aid flow and made clear that IDF must stop killing people at distribution points.”
The EU and Israel announced earlier this month that they had reached “understandings” to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, though a senior Israeli official later emphasized that no formal agreement exists, and that Israel’s actions are determined by its cabinet decisions, not by external guarantees.
Regarding EU responses, Kallas said that “all options remain on the table if Israel doesn’t deliver on its pledges” to provide more aid.
The United Nations said earlier today that more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by IDF forces while trying to access food in Gaza since the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation started aid distribution operations in late May. Israel has admitted to firing warning shots toward crowds of Palestinians approaching troops, but has claimed that casualty figures are inflated and unreliable.
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