<figure id="attachment_3064028" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3064028" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-3064028" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/b070a1dd-kaja-kallas-20052025.webp" alt="" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3064028" class="wp-caption-text">EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc wants to see real and sustained change on the ground, including more aid reaching Gaza. (AP pic)</figcaption></figure>
LUXEMBOURG: The EU is leaving the door open to sanctioning Israel to maintain leverage to ensure the Gaza ceasefire deal is fully implemented, the bloc&#8217;s foreign policy chief said Monday.
&#8220;The ceasefire has changed the context &#8212; that is very clear for everybody,&#8221; Kaja Kallas said after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
&#8220;However, unless we see real and sustained change on the ground, including more aid reaching Gaza, the threat of sanctions remains on the table&#8221;.
Brussels proposed measures against Israel including blacklisting ministers and curbing trade ties before a truce deal to halt the war in Gaza was brokered by US President Donald Trump.
&#8220;We don&#8217;t move with the measures now, but we don&#8217;t take them off the table either, because the situation is fragile,&#8221; Kallas said.
She said the EU wanted to see Israel take a raft of steps including &#8220;the improvement of humanitarian aid reaching Gaza&#8221;, handing revenues to the Palestinians, allowing journalists into Gaza and registering NGOs.
Israel had been pushing the EU to ditch the proposed measures if the bloc wants to play a greater role in the peace process.
Even before the ceasefire deal, divisions within the EU&#8217;s 27 countries meant they were not able to find a majority to take the steps proposed by Brussels.
The ceasefire deal came under strain on Sunday when the Israeli military struck dozens of Hamas positions across Gaza after the militants killed two of its soldiers.
&#8220;The ceasefire in Gaza has just faced its first major stress test,&#8221; Kallas said.
&#8220;Hamas attacks on Palestinian civilians and its refusal to disarm make the ceasefire increasingly fragile.&#8221;
The EU, the biggest international donor to the Palestinians, is weighing up how it can increase its involvement in post-war Gaza.
Brussels has reactivated a mission to help supervise the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, but it is still on hold while the route remains closed.

MatchPoint Times

EU says Israel sanctions still on table despite ceasefire

Brussels has proposed measures against Israel including blacklisting ministers and curbing trade ties.

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