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EU 'ready' to restart Gaza border mission after ceasefire deal / Photo: Nicolas TUCAT - AFP
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EU 'ready' to restart Gaza border mission after ceasefire deal
The EU is prepared to redeploy a monitoring mission to the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt after a ceasefire deal to end Israel's war in the territory, the bloc's top diplomat said Friday.
"We are ready to do it," foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told journalists after meeting Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa in Brussels.
Kallas said the EU needed an invitation from the Palestinian and Israeli sides and agreement from Egypt before it could "go forward".
The 27-nation bloc set up a civilian mission in 2005 to help monitor the crossing, but that was suspended two years later after militant Islamists Hamas took control of Gaza.
The comments came as Israel's security cabinet met Friday to vote on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal that should take effect this weekend.
If approved, the agreement would halt fighting and bombardment in Gaza's deadliest-ever war and initiate on Sunday the release of dozens of hostages held in the territory since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Kallas called the truce deal a "positive breakthrough", but warned that the road ahead was fraught with potential peril.
"It is still too soon to say whether the war is truly over and we know that there is risk in every step here," she said.
The EU on Thursday announced a 120 million euros ($123 million) in humanitarian aid for Gaza after the ceasefire deal was struck.
"The European Union will continue to work closely with our partners to deliver humanitarian support," Kallas said.
The Rafah crossing is a crucial entry into Gaza and Egyptian officials have said talks are underway to reopen it to surge aid into the territory.
The EU monitoring mission would include up to 10 European staff, officials said.
Kallas said that in the longer term the EU was working on a new "multi-year support programme for the Palestinian Authority" and was "ready to assist" in rebuilding Gaza.
(D.Lewis--TAG)
