The European Union is urgently calling on Israel to immediately cease its military operation in Rafah – a city in the southern Gaza strip considered a central hub for the remaining brigades of the Hamas terrorist organization – warning of damage to relations if the operation continues.

In a special statement released by EU Foreign Affairs Chief Josep Borrell, he stated that the operation is further disrupting the distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza and leading to an increase in the displaced persons crisis in the strip. Borrell added that it is raising the risk of famine and exacerbating suffering.

"More than a million civilians are sheltering in and around Rafah and have been told to evacuate to areas that, according to the United Nations, cannot be considered safe. While the EU recognizes Israel's right to defend itself, Israel must do so in line with International Humanitarian Law and provide safety to civilians," Borell says, following Israel's evacuation of civilians to humanitarian areas last week. 

The statement further stated that Israel must allow for the smooth passage of humanitarian aid for civilians, and added that "In this regard, the European Union also condemns the attack by Hamas on the Kerem Shalom crossing which has further obstructed the delivery of humanitarian relief," and warns that failure to heed the EU's call "would inevitably put a heavy strain on the EU's relationship with Israel." 

The statement concluded with a call on all sides to redouble efforts to achieve a ceasefire and the unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas.

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The European Union's top diplomat Josep Borrell said on Monday he hoped EU and Iranian diplomats would meet soon to discuss a potential return to nuclear talks but added that currently there were no concrete meetings planned between Tehran and the West despite Iranian media reports.

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A senior EU official said last week Iran was not ready yet to return to actual talks with world powers over its nuclear program and related US sanctions but could discuss with the EU in Brussels texts that would later be put forward.

Iran's Fars news agency said discussions could take place on Thursday, citing a lawmaker on Sunday after a meeting with Iran's foreign minister. Borrell, speaking as he arrived for an EU foreign ministers' meeting on Monday, said he was becoming more optimistic.

"No confirmation yet, but things are getting better and I am hopeful we will have preparatory meetings in Brussels in the days to come," Borrell said in Luxembourg. "You never know, I am more optimistic today than yesterday."

Western diplomats have said they are concerned Tehran's new negotiating team – under a president known as an anti-Western hardliner rather than a pragmatist like his predecessor – may make demands beyond the scope of what had already been agreed.

Some also say they fear Iran is seeking to gain time by talking to the EU rather than all the parties to the deal, which includes the United States.

Iran has long denied any ambition to acquire nuclear weapons and accused the United States of unfair treatment. The EU's political director, Enrique Mora, the chief coordinator for the talks, was in Tehran on Thursday to meet Iran's nuclear-negotiating team, four months after talks broke off between Iran and world powers as Ebrahim Raisi was elected Iranian president.

The Iranian establishment has so far refused to resume indirect talks with the United States in Vienna on both sides returning to compliance with the deal, under which Iran curbed its nuclear program in return for economic sanctions relief.

The deal effectively fell apart after former US President Donald Trump reimposed sanctions on Iran in 2018 and Tehran resumed building its stockpile of enriched uranium.

France's Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Anne-Claire Legendre said on Monday Paris had not been informed of any meeting in Brussels later this week and insisted that any such meeting could not replace the talks in Vienna.

"These exchanges cannot replace the negotiations in Vienna with the other participants in the JCPoA and the United States," she told reporters.

"These negotiations were halted at Tehran's request four months ago now, and Iran has yet to commit to a date for their resumption."

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Last week, Turkey canceled the sixth-century former cathedral-turned-mosque's 86-year status as a museum and said it would open for Muslim worship as of July 24.

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The decision sparked criticism in the United States, Greece, and other Western countries as well as from Orthodox Christian leaders. Pope Francis expressed sadness over the move.

EU foreign ministers, holding their first face-to-face meeting in months on Monday, declared that they "condemned" the decision. EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said there was "broad support to call on the Turkish authorities to urgently consider and reverse this decision."

Asked to comment on the EU criticism, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told a joint news conference with his visiting Maltese counterpart: "We reject the word 'condemnation.'"

"This is a matter that concerns Turkey's sovereign rights," he said.

He argued that there were several mosques in EU-member Spain that had been converted into churches.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, meanwhile, described the 1934 decision by the Turkish Republic's secular founding leaders that converted Hagia Sofia from a mosque into a museum as a mistake.

"We are rectifying a mistake. It's as simple as that," Erdogan said in a televised address, following a weekly Cabinet meeting.

Erdogan maintained that the criticisms leveled against Turkey over Hagia Sophia's return to a mosque were a "pretext" for enmity toward Turkey and Islam. He also said his country was determined to preserve the structure's qualities as a cultural heritage.

On Tuesday, Greece again expressed dismay at Turkey's decision.

"This decision is certainly painful to us as Greek Orthodox Christians but it also hurts us as citizens of the world," said Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. "This is not a Greek-Turkish issue, it is not even a Euro-Turkish issue, it is global. It is a universal issue."

Mitsotakis added: "With this setback, Turkey is choosing to sever ties with the Western world and its values. It abandons a cultural direction of many centuries, preferring introversion. And it wraps with an artificial mantle of strength over its weakness."

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Meanwhile, officials from Turkey's religious affairs authority, said the landmark structure can remain open to visitors outside of prayer hours, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

The Christian depictions inside are no obstacle to Muslim prayers, said the officials who are preparing the site for Muslim worship. They added, however, that the figures would need to be covered with curtains or through other means during the prayers, in line with Islamic traditions that prohibit such representations.

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"This may happen ... You can be sure it's not going to be peaceful," Borrell told the European Parliament.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu toured the Jordan Valley on Monday and reiterated his pledge to apply Israeli law there and in other areas that have been designated under the newly unveiled White House peace plan.

"President Donald Trump said that he will recognize Israel's application of sovereignty [over the relevant areas], and he will do so once we finalize the processes that have already begun," Netanyahu said,

Borrell, who traveled to Washington last week, also reiterated his rejection of parts of Trump's peace plan.

"The proposals tabled two weeks ago clearly challenge the internationally agreed parameters. It is difficult to see how this initiative can bring both parties back to the table," Borrell said of Israel and the Palestinians.

"I made this point to my (US) interlocutors: We need to ask ourselves whether this plan provides a basis for progress or not."

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During his trip on Monday and Tuesday, Borrell will meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif among others.

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"Borrell received a strong mandate from the EU foreign ministers to engage in diplomatic dialogue with regional partners, to de-escalate tensions and seek opportunities for political solutions to the current crisis," the statement said.

Tensions in the region intensified after the killing in early January of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani by the United States in Iraq.

"The visit will also be an opportunity to convey the EU's strong commitment to preserve the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action," the statement said, referring to the nuclear deal that Iran reached with six major powers in 2015, and from which the United States withdrew in 2018.

The EU serves as the guarantor of the nuclear deal, and Borrell has a formal role in its dispute resolution process, which Britain, France and Germany activated in January after Iran said it was no longer abiding by some limits on nuclear material.

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