“We would prefer a humanitarian ceasefire, but obviously, when you work with 27 [Member States], naturally there are always concessions on the part of everyone, there is never a formulation in which a country is 100% satisfied […], but we are very pleased that there can be an understanding from the European Union on such an important, burning and immediate issue, which affirms the EU's interest and desire to be a coherent actor in this important international crisis”, declared João Gomes Cravinho.

Speaking to the Portuguese press at the end of a meeting of the heads of EU diplomacy in Luxembourg, the Portuguese minister noted that in the meeting “there was talk of the importance of having a humanitarian pause so that aid can reach the population of Gaza”.

When asked about possible divergent positions between the 27, João Gomes Cravinho reinforced that “there is a distinction between a ceasefire and a humanitarian pause, with a ceasefire being something that is more legally consolidated”.

“Regarding the issue of the humanitarian pause, I believe there is a consensus around the table,” he said.

EU Foreign Ministers met in Luxembourg to assess the support provided to Ukraine and discuss challenges in the current geopolitical panorama, with tension in the Middle East dominating the agenda.

The meeting took place after, on October 7, the Islamist group Hamas launched a surprise attack against southern Israel with the launch of thousands of rockets and the incursion of armed militiamen, taking two hundred hostages and causing than 1,400 deaths, especially civilians.

In response, Israel declared war on Hamas, a movement that has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007 and which is classified as terrorist by the European Union and the United States, bombing several of the group's infrastructures in the Gaza Strip and imposing a total siege on the territory with a cut of supply of water, fuel and electricity.

The conflict has already caused thousands of deaths and injuries, among military personnel and civilians, in both territories.