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EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned Tuesday that the situation in Gaza remains "very, very bad" and said if conditions haven't improved, "then we haven't all done enough," as Israeli media reports Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convinced U.S. President Donald Trump to give him one more week for a ceasefire agreement.
Speaking ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels, Kallas pointed to the "catastrophic" situation on the ground and noted that a lack of a cease-fire makes it harder to provide humanitarian aid.
"We have reached a common understanding with Israel to really improve the situation on the ground. But it's not about the paper, but actually the implementation of the paper. So we see some positive signs," Kallas added.
Kallas later noted that despite some positive developments, such as more aid trucks reaching Gaza's population, the improvements remain insufficient.
"But of course we know this is not enough, and we need to put more pressure to ensure that what we agreed upon to improve the situation on the ground is actually implemented on the ground," she said.
On July 10, Tel Aviv announced an agreement with the EU on steps including increasing daily food and other truck entries to Gaza, reopening Jordan and Egypt aid routes, ensuring food distribution through bakeries and kitchens, restarting fuel deliveries for humanitarian facilities, protecting aid workers, and restoring electricity to water treatment facilities.
Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Monday that unnamed U.S. sources told families of Israelis held captive in Gaza that Netanyahu convinced Trump to give him one more week to complete a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.
The additional time reportedly aims to bring the ceasefire agreement closer to the end of the Israeli parliament's summer session on July 27, according to the report.
"President Trump is tired of the war in Gaza, but Netanyahu managed to buy some more time," the sources were quoted as saying. The report noted it was unclear what Netanyahu offered Trump in exchange for the additional time.
The fact that U.S. Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff has not yet traveled to Qatar to finalize the ongoing negotiations was cited as an indication that Netanyahu secured extra time from Trump.
Israeli news site Walla reported that indirect talks with Hamas resumed after "a certain understanding reached in recent days," citing unnamed Israeli sources regarding cease-fire negotiations continuing in Qatar's capital, Doha.
Netanyahu reportedly instructed the Israeli negotiating team to be flexible on military withdrawal from Gaza, with the team presenting updated maps for potential withdrawal and negotiations resuming intensively.
Trump previously announced that Israel accepted the necessary conditions for achieving a 60-day cease-fire in Gaza, with the proposal presented to Hamas by mediators Qatar and Egypt.
Hamas conveyed its "positive response" to the ceasefire and prisoner exchange proposal to mediators and announced readiness for negotiations to implement the ceasefire.
On the other hand, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday that "a ceasefire in Gaza would not be sufficient alone," emphasizing that Palestinians must have a state where they can exercise their rights like Israelis.
"The situation in Gaza is horrible," Guterres told reporters in New York, noting that the destruction and loss of life witnessed in Gaza is at an unprecedented level in recent history.
"This situation, beyond the immense suffering experienced by the people of Gaza, undermines the most basic human dignity," he said.
Guterres stated that an urgent and permanent ceasefire in Gaza is essential, but emphasized that a cease-fire alone would not be sufficient. He announced that an international conference on a two-state solution would be held at the U.N. at the end of July.
"The idea that 5 million people can live on their own land without any rights is completely contrary to both human dignity and international law," Guterres said.
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