The European Union condemned ‘’the indiscriminate fire into Israel by militant groups in the Gaza Strip’’ but at the same time deplored the ‘’growing number of civilian casualties, reportedly among them children, caused by Israeli retaliatory fire.’’
By ‘’militant groups’’, the EU means Hamas and its military branch ''Hamas-Izz al-Din al-Qassem'' which are both on the official EU list of terror organizations.
A statement issued by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton’s spokesperson says the EU is following ''with grave concern the rapidly deteriorating situation in the South of Israel and the Gaza Strip.''
‘’The EU calls on all sides to exercise maximum restraint to avoid casualties and re-establish calm,’’ it adds.
The statement stresses that ‘’the safety and security of all civilians must be of paramount importance.’’
‘’The EU calls on parties in the region to do their utmost to achieve an immediate ceasefire,’’ the statement adds.
EU's Ambassador to Israel, Lars Faaborg-Andersen, visited southern Israel where he expressed "unreserved solidarity" with the embattled Israeli civilians living under constant rocket fire.
"Indiscriminate shooting of rockets against innocent civilians can never be a legitimate response," said Faaborg-Andersen.
The EU ambassador appeared to be implying that the escalated rocket fire is a response to the murder of 16-year-old Palestinian Mohammed Abu Khder in Jerusalem.
During a visit to the southern city of Ashkelon on Monday, the ambassador stated: "My presence here is a signal from the European Union of solidarity with people of southern Israel living under an unacceptable threat".
Speaking to journalists during the visit, he also said: "The people living in this area have been exposed to as many missile attacks in the last 4-5 days as in the previous 4 or five months combined. This is obviously an unacceptable situation. The EU has consistently condemned the firing of rockets from Gaza at Israeli civilians.''
He continued: ''I've been out with the marine police looking at the area from the sea and going all the way down to the border with Gaza and I saw with my own eyes how close Gaza is to Ashkelon. I also visited a Russian–Hebrew kindergarten, and met the children there and saw the security rooms they have there. Finally I was at the command and control centre in the city in charge of coordinating the actions by the city in case of an attack and we heard an assessment that the rockets fired today were gradually getting closer to Ashkelon."
''To see how people are living on a daily basis with this threat and are taking precautions against it makes a big impression on someone who is living just 60 or so kilometres north of here. This is a very difficult situation to live with and I 'm very conscious of the fear and anxiety that people experience here every day,'' the EU ambassador, who is from Denmark, said.
The EU statement came as terrorists from Gaza continued to fire rockets towards Israel and even extended the range of the rockets.
The latest salvo of rockets on Tuesday evening hit Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and as far as Hadera, which is located 45 kilometers (28 miles) north of Tel Aviv and south of Haifa.
Hadera is the furthest point to date that a Gaza rocket has reached.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu pointed out the difference between the way Hamas operates and the way Israel operates, following an incident in which several Palestinians were killed while being used as human shields by terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
"The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) aims its actions against Hamas terrorists and not against innocent civilians,” Netanyahu stressed. “But Hamas purposely hides behind Palestinian civilians, and therefore bears responsibility when they are inadvertently hit.”