Former EU diplomats urge bloc to take stronger action on Gaza

More than 300 former European diplomats and officials have written to EU leaders urging a "far more" decisive response to the war in Gaza, including a full suspension of the bloc's cooperation agreement with Israel.

- Jennifer Rankin

Published soon after the opening of the UN general assembly in New York, the letter from the 314 signatories also calls on all EU member states to recognise the state of Palestine, joining 147 countries to have done so. France, Belgium, the UK, Canada and Australia, among others, are expected to show support for a Palestinian state later this month at the UN.

The statement followed the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, issuing her strongest condemnation yet of the Israeli government, as she called for sanctions on extremist ministers and a suspension of the trade part of the EU-Israel association agreement.

"Man-made famine can never be a weapon of war," she said in her sharpest comments on Israel's 23-month war that has brought humanitarian catastrophe to Gaza.

She also announced a freeze on financial support to the Israeli government: €6m (£5.2m) in annual regional funds and a €14m grant for public institutions.