GENEVA  

The EU is calling for several humanitarian pauses to face the "dire situation" in Gaza, the bloc's foreign policy chief said on Monday ahead of a Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels.

Recalling the joint statement released by the 27 states of the EU on Sunday, in which the bloc joined calls for "immediate pauses" in hostilities and the establishment of humanitarian corridors in Gaza, Josep Borrell said: "I'm saying that in plural, not the single one but several pauses."

"The objective is immediate pauses and new humanitarian corridors to be established in order to face the dire situation of the people in Gaza," he said. "We ask Israel to show maximum restraint in order to save civilian lives."

He reiterated that the bloc condemns the "use of human shields" by Hamas at hospitals, and added: "But also we express our concern for the dire situation of the hospitals that are being heavily affected by the bombing."

The foreign policy chief added that they will not only discuss the situation in Gaza but also Ukraine and Armenia-Azerbaijan issue during the meeting.

Israel has been carrying out relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since the cross-border attack on Oct. 7 by Hamas. The targets have included hospitals, schools as well as other UN shelter facilities.

The attacks have killed over 11,000 Palestinians, including more than 8,000 women and children. The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, stands at 1,200 after a downward revision.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a statement on Monday reiterated his call for a cease-fire, saying the “world cannot stand silent while hospitals, which should be safe havens, are transformed into scenes of death, devastation, and despair.”