BRUSSELS - European Union leaders urged pauses in Israeli bombing and Hamas rocket attacks so humanitarian aid could be delivered to Gaza.

US President Joe Biden meanwhile told Iran’s supreme leader not to target US personnel in the Middle East.

Israel’s military, which has been carrying out limited raids into Gaza as it prepares for a ground incursion of the enclave, said early on Friday it was “currently conducting raids in the Gaza Strip as part of preparations for the next stage of the operation”.

Palestinian militants clashed with Israeli troops in at least two areas within the seaside enclave near the border with Israel early on Friday, Hamas-affiliated media reported.

Israeli military vehicles raided the central area of Al-Bureij and troops were clashing with militants near the border there, the reports said.

In the south, in a border area near the town of Rafah, Hamas militants were trading fire with Israeli troops, according to the reports.

Reuters was not immediately able to confirm the reports.

As the plight of Palestinian civilians grows more desperate, the issue of whether to have humanitarian pauses or ceasefire agreements in the Hamas-run coastal enclave will come before the 193-member UN General Assembly on Friday in a draft resolution submitted by Arab states calling for a ceasefire.

Unlike in the Security Council where resolutions on Gaza aid failed this week, no country holds a veto in the General Assembly. Resolutions are non-binding, but carry political weight.

Israel has bombarded the densely populated Gaza Strip following the Oct 7 Hamas attack on Israeli communities. Israel says Hamas killed some 1,400 people and took more than 200 hostages.

EU compromise

In Brussels, the 27 leaders of the EU reached a compromise declaration after days of wrangling, expressing the “gravest concern for the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza”.

They called for “continued, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access and aid to reach those in need through all necessary measures including humanitarian corridors and pauses for humanitarian needs”.

While EU leaders have strongly condemned Hamas’ attack, they have struggled to stick to the same message beyond that.

Some have stressed Israel’s right to self-defence and others emphasised concern about Palestinian civilians.

Separately, Mr Mamadou Sow, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross’ regional delegation, said from Jeddah: “To say that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is catastrophic is an understatement. Everything that is needed to sustain life is missing or dwindling by the hour in Gaza.”

Gaza’s health ministry said on Thursday that 7,028 Palestinians had been killed in the retaliatory air strikes.

The ministry on Thursday published a 212-page document with names and ID numbers of the more than 7,000 Palestinians it says were killed in Israel’s bombardment.

More than 613,000 people have been made homeless and are being sheltered by the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.

US sends more troops to region

Governments in the West and the Middle East are concerned about a wider regional conflict developing if Israel continues its bombardment of the Gaza Strip or mounts a ground invasion.

US forces have been attacked more than a dozen times in Iraq and Syria in the past week by what Washington suspects are Iran-backed groups.

Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah have exchanged fire.

The US has sent warships and fighter aircraft to the region over the last three weeks.

On Thursday the Pentagon said about 900 more US troops have arrived in the Middle East or are heading there to bolster air defences for US personnel.

Mr Biden delivered a direct message to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warning against targeting US personnel in the region, the White House said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian had said at the UN on Thursday that if Israel’s offensive against Hamas did not stop, the US will “not be spared from this fire”.

For Israel’s part, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, asked at a press conference about the possibility of a confrontation with Iran, said Israel has “no interest in expanding the war.” REUTERS