European leaders repeat calls for ceasefire on first anniversary of start of war in Gaza

There has been some early reaction from European leaders on the first anniversary of the Hamas incursion into Israel which sparked the ongoing war in Gaza.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the Hamas attacks, which saw 1,200 Israelis killed and 250 others taken hostage, were an example of "unspeakable savagery" which could not be justified.

"The European Union stands with all the innocent people whose lives have been shattered to the core since that fateful day," she said in a statement.

She reiterated her call for a ceasefire in the Strip and the unconditional release of the Israelis still being held captive by Hamas in Gaza.

Israeli authorities say almost 100 hostages remain in Gaza, but fewer than 70 are believed to still be alive. 

"One year on, the humanitarian situation in Gaza is appalling. The European Union will keep doing its utmost to mobilise financial assistance and facilitate deliveries and distribution of humanitarian aid, to the Palestinian people, and now also in Lebanon," she said.

"Hamas' terrorist attacks on Israel ignited a spiral of violence which has brought the entire region to a state of extreme tension and volatility."

In a year of fighting, more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza but the Hamas-run health ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.

In a video posted on X, Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz regretted that "so much suffering, so many deaths" had taken place on both sides of the conflict.

"With their disgusting attack on Israel, Hamas triggered a catastrophe for the Palestinian people. The Federal Government therefore continues to persistently advocate for a ceasefire, which must finally come about so that the civilian population in the Gaza Strip can be better protected and, of course, better cared for," he said.

And in prayers at the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome, Pope Francis appealed to the Virgin Mary for help "in these times oppressed by injustice and devastated by wars." 

"You who are the queen of peace, convert the minds of those who fuel hatred, silence the noise of weapons that generate death, extinguish the violence that smoulders