Germany pledges €40m in aid to Gaza

EU foreign affairs chief says ‘true political solution’ is needed to end Israel-Palestine violence

A Palestinian man inspects the damage of a six-storey building destroyed by an early morning Israeli air strike in Gaza city. AP Photo

Palestinians, who fled their homes due to Israeli air and artillery strikes, wash their clothes at a UN-run school in Gaza city. Reuters

Rockets are launched towards Israel from the southern Gaza Strip. AFP

A satellite image shows the rubble of a Gaza Strip high-rise building. AP Photo

A member of the Palestinian Abu Dayer family receives treatment at Al-Shifa Hospital following an Israeli air strike on their home in Gaza city. AFP

More than 200 people, most of them Palestinians, have been killed in the attacks. AFP

Palestinians run amid Israeli air strikes on Gaza city. AFP

A Palestinian man reacts to the death of his father who was killed by an Israeli airstrike that destroyed the upper floors of a commercial building and caused damage to a health ministry and prime health care clinic in Gaza city. AP Photo

A ball of fire explodes above buildings in Gaza city as Israeli forces shell the Palestinian enclave. AFP

Israeli soldiers cheer as they take photos at an artillery position along the Israel-Gaza border. AP Photo

Wounded Palestinian girl Sara Al-Metrabeeay lies on a bed in Shifa Hospital in Gaza city. Reuters

Fighting continues between the Israeli Army and Hamas forces at the Gaza border, Israel. EPA

Israelis gather to watch the Iron Dome aerial defence system launch a missile to intercept a rocket launched from the Gaza Strip, above the city of Ashdod. AFP

An Israeli artillery soldier carries shells as their unit aims at targets in the Gaza Strip. EPA

People inspect a destroyed car inside a house, following an Israeli airstrike on the upper floors of a commercial building in Gaza city. AP Photo

Germany pledged €40 million ($48.9m) in aid to Gaza on Tuesday, as the EU said a "true political solution" was needed to achieve sustained peace in Israel and Palestine.

Speaking before an informal meeting of EU representatives, Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said he would lobby fellow member states to increase humanitarian supplies to Gaza amid the worst violence there in years.

Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign affairs chief, said the priority was an immediate ceasefire after the fighting between Israel and Palestinian groups including Hamas.

Speaking after the video conference, he said the “status quo is not an option, because the violence will come again”.

He referenced the cycles of destruction and reconstruction in Gaza in recent years.

“This is not an option. I think we Europeans today, we have said something very important. We need a true political solution,” Mr Borrell said.

He said it was the only way to bring peace.

Mr Borrell said the international community, including the EU, had been looking away, “hoping that the problem will be solved by itself. Well, this is not the case”.

“The priority is the immediate cessation of all violence and the implementation of a ceasefire”, Mr Borrell said. His call was backed by all EU member states except Hungary.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday held talks with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah, as they sought to forge a way out of the crisis.

Mr Macron’s office said the discussion aimed “above all to work for a rapid ceasefire and to prevent the conflict from extending”.