The visit to Israel by the presidents of two of the EU's most important institutions comes six days after Hamas carried out its surprise land, sea and air attack in Israel.
ADVERTISEMENTEuropean Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola arrived in Israel shortly before noon on Friday to express solidarity with the country following Saturday's terrorist attacks by Hamas.
"I have arrived in Israel with the President of the European Parliament to express our solidarity with the Israeli people after the terrible terrorist attack by Hamas," Von der Leyen wrote on the social networking site X. "We are here with a message of solidarity.
"We are here with a message of solidarity after the worst terrorist attack Israel has suffered in years. Terror will not prevail. How we respond matters. We can and must stop Hamas and do what we can to mitigate the humanitarian consequences," Metsola said on the same platform.
The visit to Israel by the presidents of two of the EU's most important institutions comes six days after Hamas carried out its surprise land, sea and air attack in Israel, which has left more than 1,300 people dead since 7 October - more than in the entire Second Intifada - and 3,200 wounded.
Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is expected later on Friday.
On Friday, Israel ordered all civilians to leave northern Gaza and Gaza City and move south of the enclave within 24 hours.
In Israel, more than 1,300 people have been killed, including around 900 civilians while the bodies of 245 soldiers have been identified, according to authorities.
On the Palestinian side, the death toll from the bombings has risen to at least 1,500 including 500 children, according to the authorities in Gaza. Earlier in the week Hamas said two of its officials were killed in strikes.
Hundreds of thousands more across the Gaza Strip are now displaced.
High-level US visits to Middle East region
Meanwhile, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived Friday in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv to meet with senior government leaders and see firsthand some of the US weapons and security assistance that Washington rapidly delivered to Israel.
A senior defence official said the US has already given Israel small-diameter bombs as well as interceptor missiles for its Iron Dome system and more will be delivered. Other munitions are expected to arrive Friday.
Austin is the second high-level US official to visit Israel in two days. His quick trip from Brussels, where he was attending a NATO defence ministers meeting, comes a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in the region on Thursday. Blinken is continuing the frantic Mideast diplomacy, seeking to avert an expanded regional conflict.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Jordan on Friday. Blinken then went on to a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who has a home in Amman, the Jordanian capital.
In the meeting with the king, Blinken discussed Hamas' attack last Saturday and efforts to release all hostages the militants seized.
Blinken “underscored that Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination and discussed ways to address the humanitarian needs of civilians in Gaza while Israel conducts legitimate security operations to defend itself from terrorism.”
According to a palace statement, Abdullah stressed the need to open humanitarian corridors for medical aid and relief into Gaza while protecting civilians and working to end the escalation of the conflict.
Later Friday, Blinken is to fly to Doha for meetings with Qatari officials who have close contacts with the Hamas leadership and have been exploring an exchange of Palestinian prisoners in Israel for the release of dozens of Israelis and foreigners taken hostage by Hamas.
Blinken will make a brief stop in Bahrain and end the day in Saudi Arabia, a key player in the Arab world that has been considering normalizing ties with Israel, a US-mediated process that is now on hold.
ADVERTISEMENTHe will also travel to the United Arab Emirates and Egypt over the weekend.