The five European countries that form part of the UN Security Council urged Israel on Sunday to"reverse" its plan to occupy Gaza, denouncing that it could"violate international law," EFE reports.

The United Kingdom, France, Denmark, Greece and Slovenia, which called for the extraordinary meeting on Sunday to discuss the occupation of Palestine,"condemned the Israeli government's decision to expand its military operations in Gaza" in a joint statement.

"This plan would violate international humanitarian law. We call on Israel to urgently reverse this decision and not implement it, and reiterate that any attempt at annexation or expansion of the occupation violates international law," read Samuel Zboga, Slovenia's representative on the Security Council.

European countries warned of risks to"the lives of civilians in Gaza," as well as to hostages, after it was announced on Friday that the Israeli government's Security Cabinet had endorsed a military plan by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to occupy Gaza City, in the north of the enclave.

They considered that the"Israeli government's decision will do nothing to guarantee the return of the hostages and could further risk their lives."

They also indicated that it "will worsen the already catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza, and threatens more deaths and mass displacement of Palestinian civilians."

The European representatives reiterated that "the famine situation is so severe that desperate civilians are taking the risk of being killed at aid distribution sites to feed their families."

"We have a clear message for Israel: lift your restrictions on aid distribution to allow the UN to establish humanitarian partners to operate safely," they said.

While the Europeans were issuing this statement, Netanyahu assured in a press conference in Jerusalem that Israel will launch"very soon" its offensive against the city of Gaza and the refugee camps in the center and south of the enclave, which it considers the last two Hamas strongholds in the Strip.

Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour said Friday that since the October 7, 2023, incursion in which Hamas killed at least 1,200 people in Israel, the Israeli military has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians,"most of them children and women."

The US defends Israel

For its part, the United States government defended this Sunday at the UN Security Council meeting that"Israel has the right to decide what is necessary."

"The United States supports Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas terrorism, and ultimately, Israel has the right to decide what is necessary for its security and what steps are appropriate to end the threat from Hamas and similar groups," said U.S. Representative Dorothy Shea.

The US diplomat considered the meeting called by European members of the Security Council after Netanyahu's military plan to occupy Gaza City was released on Friday to be"counterproductive."

While not explicitly mentioning the new plan, Shea argued that the"Government of Israel did not make this decision to advance its military campaign in a vacuum, but rather after months of intransigence from Hamas," which he accused of not accepting ceasefire agreements.

"The simple truth is that this war could end today if Hamas allows the hostages and all of Gaza to walk free. Remarkably, rather than pressure Hamas, members of this organization have incentivized and rewarded its intransigence," the U.S. diplomat said.

Shea also accused other members of the Security Council of"spreading lies" about Israel, saying it was"categorically false" that a genocide was taking place in Gaza.