Prime Minister Alexander De Croo has stated he is "very sorry" that the war in Gaza has resumed after the Israeli-Hamas ceasefire expired early on Friday morning.
Israel announced it had resumed airstrikes at 07:00 local time after the 7-day temporary ceasefire ended without an agreement.
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) stated that Hamas had violated the ceasefire by firing rockets into Israel on Friday while failing to provide a list of hostages intended for release. Hamas, meanwhile, claims that Israel violated the truce agreement by not allowing fuel into the north of the Gaza Strip.
According to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, 29 Palestinians, including children, have already been killed by the renewed Israeli airstrikes in southern Gaza.
Speaking on VRT's Radio 1, De Croo reiterated his key message from last week's speech from outside the Rafah Gate on the Egypt-Gaza border. "I repeat what I said in Rafah: no more civilian casualties, and I hope people will do everything possible to achieve that." De Croo's words caused a diplomatic row between Israel and Belgium.
On Friday morning, residents in parts of southern Gaza reported having leaflets dropped on them from Israel ordering them to evacuate. This also happened last month with the north, displacing many northern Gazans and forcing them south.
"This is very unfortunate," Prime Minister De Croo responded on radio. "The period of ceasefire did last longer than expected and many hostages and prisoners were released."
Violence in the Middle East is also a major topic of discussion at the COP28 climate conference in Dubai, which De Croo is currently attending.
A displaced Palestinian family. Credit: Belga
"I hope that everything is being done to that end, but the fact that violence has resumed is not a good thing", he said.
Many humanitarian organisations are urging the European Union to lead the calls for an end to the fighting. Mont des Arts in Brussels was lit up on Wednesday with a giant projection calling for a permanent ceasefire.
Reacting in support of the action, Edouard Rodier, Norwegian Refugee Council EU Director stated: "Continuing this warfare will have devastating consequences for thousands of innocent civilians. It is utter madness."
This week, many Belgian political parties were calling for the Israeli Ambassador to Belgium Idit Rosenzweig-Abu to be recalled, after she was heavily criticised for a controversial social media post which referenced one of Belgium's worst serial killers.
