The European Commission is reviewing the entire portfolio of aid to the Palestinians worth €691 million.
"The scale of terror and brutality against Israel and its people is a turning point," said Oliver Varhelyi, EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, in a post on Twitter. – "Things cannot stay the same.
"The EU's decision means that payments are suspended immediately, projects are being reviewed, and new budget proposals are postponed until further notice," he added.
Earlier in the day, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said that he had ordered a "complete siege" of the Gaza Strip as part of the fight against the Hamas terrorist group:
"I have ordered a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel. Our opponents are beasts in human form, and we are acting accordingly."
On the morning of October 7, militants of the Palestinian Hamas movement, recognized as a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and the EU, attacked Israel, firing more than 2,000 rockets and breaking through to the border areas.
According to the latest reports, at least 700 Israelis were killed and about 2,400 were injured in the two-day Hamas attack. On October 8, it became known that about 260 bodies were found at the site of a festival held in the desert in southern Israel, near the border with the Gaza Strip.
Background. As it became known, Hamas had been deliberately deceiving Israel about its intentions for several years, lulling its vigilance – the attack was planned in the utmost secrecy, and many in the militant leadership did not know about it.