TNA Staff
The New Arab / March 25, 2025
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned that Israeli airstrikes on Syria and Lebanon could escalate tensions, following deadly attacks in Lebanon.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned on Monday during a visit to Jerusalem that Israeli strikes on Syria and Lebanon threatened to worsen the situation.
The most intense escalation since a November ceasefire, which ended the war between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon, occurred on Saturday.
Lebanon’s health ministry said eight people have been killed, with Israel saying it attacked in response to rocket fire, which Hezbollah denied responsibility for.
Despite the ceasefire, Israel has continued to carry out strikes on Lebanon, and both sides have repeatedly accused the other of violating the truce.
“Military actions must be proportionate, and Israeli strikes into Syria and Lebanon risk further escalation,” Kallas said at a joint news conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.
In Syria, Israel has launched hundreds of strikes on military sites since Islamist-led rebels overthrew Bashar al-Assad in December. Israel says it wants to prevent weapons from falling into the hands of the new authorities it considers jihadists.
“We feel that these things are unnecessary because Syria is right now not attacking Israel and that feeds more radicalisation that is also against Israel,” Kallas told journalists.
The Israeli military has also deployed to the UN-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan Heights, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demanded the demilitarisation of southern Syria.
Syria’s foreign ministry has accused Israel of waging a campaign against “the stability of the country”.
Gaza governance
When asked about Israel’s stance towards Syria’s new leaders, Kallas said: “Of course our worries are the same. They say the right things, will they do the right things?”
“But we have discussed this in the European Union and amongst all the member states, and our view is that we need a stable Syria,” she added.
Kallas also spoke about the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, where Israel restarted intense air strikes last week followed by ground operations, shattering the relative calm of a six-week ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Monday that 730 people had been killed since Israel resumed bombardments on March 18.
“The fundamental steps here are restating the ceasefire, ensuring the release of all hostages, and resuming the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza with the goal of a permanent ceasefire,” the EU’s top diplomat said.
“The European Union can help, whether through restating our Rafah border-crossing mission or providing more humanitarian assistance,” she added.
Kallas, who visited Egypt on Sunday, said the EU welcomed the Arab plan for the reconstruction of Gaza but said more needed to be done on issues such as cost-sharing and future governance.
“We see no role for Hamas in the future governance of Gaza,” she said.
Hamas has said repeatedly it is willing to give up power in Gaza once the war is over but categorically excludes giving up its weapons.
Kallas met with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah late on Monday.
“The European Union sees the Palestinian Authority as best placed to govern Gaza” after the war, she said, adding “you can also count on the EU’s support in helping the Palestinian Authority to prepare.”
Netanyahu has staunchly opposed any involvement for the PA in governing Gaza.
The EU’s top diplomat then met with Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas.
