EU ministers to meet Israeli, Palestinian top diplomats

EU foreign ministers will hold a series of meetings Monday with counterparts from Israel, the Palestinian Authority and key Arab nations about the war in Gaza and prospects for a future peace settlement, officials said.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz and his Palestinian counterpart Riyad al-Maliki are not expected to meet each other during their Brussels visits.

The foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia will also meet with European ministers in Brussels as fears swirl that a wider conflict could engulf the Middle East.

European diplomats said their aim is to sound out each side over ways to end the violence on the ground and the next steps towards a longer-term solution.

The EU has struggled for a united stance on the conflict in Gaza as staunch backers of Israel such as Germany have rejected demands for an immediate ceasefire from the likes of Spain and Ireland.

Hamas, the Islamist movement that controlled the Gaza Strip, launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, resulting in the death of about 1,140 people in Israel, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Militants also seized about 250 hostages during the attacks, around 132 of whom Israel says remain in Gaza.

Israel has vowed to "annihilate" Hamas in response and its relentless air and ground offensive has killed at least 24,620 Palestinians, around 70 percent of them women, children and adolescents, according to figures from the Hamas-run health ministry.

EU officials have sketched out broad demands for "the day after" the current war ends in Gaza, calling for no long-term Israeli occupation, an end to Hamas's rule and a role for the Palestinian Authority in running the territory.

The 27-nation bloc -- along with the United States -- believes the creation of a Palestinian state remains the only viable way to secure a lasting peace.

But Israel's right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday flatly rejected that suggestion.

France has said the EU on Monday will adopt sanctions on Hamas over the October 7 attack.

The Islamist movement's Gaza political chief Yahya Sinwar was added to the EU's "terrorist" blacklist on Tuesday.

Hamas is already listed as a "terrorist" organisation by the EU.

Diplomats say EU countries are also in the process of drawing up sanctions against "extremist" Israeli settlers in the West Bank.

In the face of spiralling violence across the region, EU countries this week gave initial backing to setting up a naval mission to help protect shipping in the Red Sea from attacks by Yemen's Huthi.

A proposal for deployment says it could have three frigates and a mandate to defend ships, but not attack the Huthis onshore, like a US-led coalition operating in the region.

EU ministers meeting on Monday are set to discuss the mission, but it is only expected to be finalised next month.

The Netherlands and Germany have said they are willing to contribute ships to mission.