Netanyahu Urged EU to Have Gaza Refugees Escape to Egypt - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried to persuade the European Union earlier in October to exert pressure on Egypt to accept refugees from the Gaza Strip, but the attempt failed due to opposition by some nations, a British newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The sources told the newspaper that the idea was voiced by Netanyahu at meetings with European officials last week. The Czech Republic and Austria supported the proposal, while major EU powers, including France, Germany and the United Kingdom, opposed the idea, calling it "unrealistic," as Egypt has consistently showed its unwillingness to accept large numbers of refugees.

Eventually, EU leaders agreed at the European Council summit in Brussels from October 26-27 that Cairo should contribute to ensuring humanitarian supplies to the Gaza Strip, but it should not be forced to accept refugees, the newspaper reported.

"Netanyahu pushed quite hard that the solution was for Egyptians to take Gazans at least during the conflict. But we didn't take it very seriously because the Egyptian position is and has always been very clear and they just won't do it," an EU diplomat told the media.

Earlier in the month, the newspaper reported that Egypt did not want to accept a large number of Palestinian refugees and threatened to send them to European countries in response to pressure. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi said he rejected the relocation of Palestinians to Egypt.

On October 7, Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip and breached the border, killing and abducting people in neighboring Israeli communities. Israel launched retaliatory strikes and ordered a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to more than 2 million people, cutting off supplies of water, food, and fuel. The blockade was later eased to allow trucks with humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The escalation of the conflict has resulted in thousands of people killed and injured.