DUBAI, January 23. /TASS/. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki held separate meetings with counterparts from France, Poland, Sweden, Spain and Cyprus on the sidelines of the EU ministerial meeting in Brussels, discussing efforts on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the WAFA news agency reported.

The Minister informed his colleagues about the carnage that Israeli troops carried out in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza on Monday, underscoring the international community’s responsibility for pressuring Israel to stop the aggression in order to prevent a deterioration of the situation in the region. According to al-Maliki, it is necessary to increase the international pressure on Israel in order to achieve a ceasefire, which will make it possible to deliver ever increasing volumes of humanitarian aid and will create an option to discuss the post-war future.

The situation in the Middle East sharply escalated following an incursion of Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip into Israel on October 7. Hamas has cast the attack as a response to Israeli actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Israel has declared a complete siege of the Gaza Strip and started a military operation there. Israel also strikes parts of Lebanon and Syria in retaliation for bombardments originating from these countries. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.