LONDON 

Former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borell drew parallels Friday between the 1995 Srebrenica massacre and the war in the Gaza Strip, urging immediate action to prevent further atrocities.

He wrote on X: “30 years ago we did not prevent the Srebrenica genocide. Today we bow to the victims.“

“The best way to honor his memory is to stop the other genocide that is now being committed in Gaza,” he added.

In July 1995, Bosnian Serb forces attacked the UN-declared safe area of Srebrenica, killing more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys despite the presence of Dutch peacekeepers.

Forces led by Gen. Ratko Mladic, who was later sentenced to life for war crimes and genocide, overran the area on July 11, executing 2,000 men and boys that day and thousands more in the following days as they fled to nearby forests.

The bodies of victims have been found in 570 mass graves across Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing nearly 57,800 Palestinians so far, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages and the spread of diseases.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.