European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell speaks to the press ahead of a Foreign Affairs Council at the EU headquarters in Brussels on November 18, 2024. AFP
Borrell said he had "no more words" to describe the situation in the Middle East, before chairing his last planned meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers.
"I exhausted the words to explain what's happening in the Middle East," he told reporters, barely concealing his frustration at the EU's failure to weigh on the conflict during his five-year mandate.
"There is no more words," he said. "It's about 44,000 people killed in Gaza, the whole area is being destroyed, and 70 percent of the people being killed are women or children."
"The most frequent ages of casualties are children below nine years old," said the 77-year-old foreign policy chief.
But Borrell's proposal for suspening the political dialogue with Israel is expected to be given short shrift by numerous member states including key powers France and Germany, as well as Italy and the Netherlands.
Since Israel unleashed its devastating war in Gaza, the EU's member states have been deeply divided over the conflict.
Borrell has often been an outlier in denouncing Israel's excesses.
Short link: