Israel rejects critical EU report ahead of ministers' meeting
A child cries during a funeral for Palestinians killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house on Friday, at Al-Shifa Hospital, in Gaza City, June 21, 2025. REUTERS/ Mahmoud Issa
BRUSSELS — Israel has rejected a European Union report saying it may be breaching human rights obligations in Gaza and the West Bank as a 'moral and methodological failure,' according to a document seen by Reuters on Sunday.
The note, sent to EU officials ahead of a foreign ministers' meeting on Monday, said the report by the bloc's diplomatic service failed to consider Israel's challenges and was based on inaccurate information.
"The Foreign Ministry of the State of Israel rejects the document ... and finds it to be a complete moral and methodological failure," the note said, adding that it should be dismissed entirely.
European nations have been increasingly critical of the massive civilian toll of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's military campaign against Palestinian militant group Hamas since its October 7, 2023 attack on Israeli communities. — Reuters
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

GMA Network
an hour ago
- GMA Network
US issues 'worldwide caution' for Americans over Mideast conflict
A general view of the US Department of State in Washington D.C., March 4, 2025. REUTERS/ Nathan Howard WASHINGTON - The US State Department issued a "worldwide caution" for Americans on Sunday, saying the conflict in the Middle East could put those traveling or living abroad at an increased security risk. "There is the potential for demonstrations against US citizens and interests abroad," and "the Department of State advises US citizens worldwide to exercise increased caution," said the State Department's security alert. —Agence France-Presse


GMA Network
an hour ago
- GMA Network
World awaits Iranian response after US hits nuclear sites
People attend a protest against the US attack on nuclear sites, amid the Iran-Israel conflict, in Tehran, Iran, June 22, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS ISTANBUL/WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM - The world braced on Sunday for Iran's response after the US attacked key Iranian nuclear sites, joining Israel in the biggest Western military action against the Islamic Republic since its 1979 revolution. Iran vowed to defend itself a day after the US dropped 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs onto the mountain above Iran's Fordow nuclear site while American leaders urged Tehran to stand down and pockets of anti-war protesters emerged in US cities. In a post to the Truth Social platform on Sunday, US President Donald Trump addressed the issue of regime change in Iran. "It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!" he wrote. Iran and Israel continued to trade volleys of missile attacks. An Israeli military spokesperson said Israeli fighter jets had struck military targets in western Iran. Earlier, Iran fired missiles that wounded scores of people and flattened buildings in Tel Aviv. The US Department of Homeland Security warned of a "heightened threat environment" in America, citing the possibility of cyber attacks or targeted violence. Law enforcement in major US cities stepped up patrols and deployed additional resources to religious, cultural and diplomatic sites. An organization that monitors flight safety risks warned that the US strikes could lead to threats against American operators in the region and some flights were canceled on Sunday and Monday. Tehran has so far not followed through on its threats of retaliation against the United States – either by targeting US bases or trying to choke off global oil supplies – but that may not hold. Speaking in Istanbul, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said his country would consider all possible responses. There would be no return to diplomacy until it had retaliated, he said. "The US showed they have no respect for international law. They only understand the language of threat and force," he said. Trump, in a televised address, called the strikes "a spectacular military success" and boasted that Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities had been "completely and totally obliterated." But his own officials gave more nuanced assessments. With the exception of satellite photographs appearing to show craters on the mountain above Iran's subterranean plant at Fordow, there has been no public accounting of the damage. The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, said no increases in off-site radiation levels had been reported after the US strikes. Rafael Grossi, the agency's director general, told CNN that it was not yet possible to assess the damage done underground. A senior Iranian source told Reuters that most of the highly enriched uranium at Fordow had been moved elsewhere before the attack. Reuters could not immediately corroborate the claim. Trump, who veered between offering to end the war with diplomacy or to join it before ultimately moving ahead with the biggest foreign policy gamble of his career, called on Iran to forgo any retaliation. He said the government "must now make peace" or "future attacks would be far greater and a lot easier." US Vice President JD Vance said Washington was not at war with Iran but with its nuclear program, adding this had been pushed back by a very long time due to the US intervention. In a step towards what is widely seen as Iran's most effective threat to hurt the West, its parliament approved a move to close the Strait of Hormuz. Nearly a quarter of global oil shipments pass through the narrow waters that Iran shares with Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Iran's Press TV said closing the strait would require approval from the Supreme National Security Council, a body led by an appointee of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Attempting to choke off Gulf oil by closing the strait could send global oil prices skyrocketing, derail the world economy and invite conflict with the US Navy's massive Fifth Fleet, based in the Gulf and tasked with keeping the strait open. Oil is likely to rise by $3-5 per barrel when trading resumes on Sunday evening after the US attacked Iran at the weekend, market analysts said, with gains expected to accelerate only if Iran retaliates hard and causes a major oil supply disruption. Security experts have long warned a weakened Iran could also find other unconventional ways to strike back, such as bombings or cyberattacks. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told CBS's "Face the Nation" that there were no other planned military operations against Iran "unless they mess around." The UN Security Council met on Sunday to discuss the US strikes as Russia, China and Pakistan proposed the 15-member body adopt a resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the Middle East. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council the US bombings in Iran marked a perilous turn in the region and urged a halt to fighting and return to negotiations over Iran's nuclear program. Diverging war aims Israeli officials, who began the hostilities with a surprise attack on Iran on June 13, have increasingly spoken of their ambition to topple the hardline Shi'ite Muslim clerical establishment that has ruled Iran since 1979. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israeli reporters that Israel was very close to meeting its goals of removing the threats of ballistic missiles and the nuclear program in Iran. US officials, many of whom witnessed Republican President George W. Bush's popularity collapse following his disastrous intervention in Iraq in 2003, have stressed that they were not working to overthrow Iran's government. "This mission was not and has not been about regime change," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon, calling the mission "a precision operation" targeting Iran's nuclear program. Anti-war activists organized demonstrations on Sunday in New York, Washington and other US cities, with signs carrying messages such as "hands off Iran." Meanwhile, Iranians contacted by Reuters described their fear at the prospect of an enlarged conflict involving the US. "Our future is dark. We have nowhere to go – it's like living in a horror movie," Bita, 36, a teacher from the central city of Kashan, said before the phone line was cut. Much of Tehran, a capital city of 10 million people, has emptied out, with residents fleeing to the countryside to escape Israeli bombardment. Iranian authorities say more than 400 people have been killed since Israel's attacks began, mostly civilians. Israel's bombardment has scythed through much of Iran's military leadership with strikes targeted at bases and residential buildings where senior figures slept. Iran has been launching missiles back at Israel, killing at least 24 people over the past nine days. Air raid sirens sounded across most of Israel on Sunday, sending millions of people to safe rooms. In Tel Aviv, Aviad Chernovsky, 40, emerged from a bomb shelter to find his house had been destroyed in a direct hit. "It's not easy to live now in Israel (right now), but we are very strong. We know that we will win,' he said. —Reuters


GMA Network
2 hours ago
- GMA Network
PH calls for de-escalation, 'take the path of diplomacy' after US strike on Iran
Satellite image shows an overview of Natanz Enrichment Facility near Natanz, Iran after it was hit by US air strikes on June 22, 2025. US President Donald Trump says US forces also struck two other nuclear sites in Isfahan and Fordow. Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS The Philippines has called for de-escalation of tensions and called on concerned parties to pursue diplomacy after the United States struck Iran's nuclear sites over the weekend. In a statement late Sunday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the country, which has a huge presence of workers in the Middle East, is "greatly concerned" over the developments in the region "in these last few hours." "We strongly urge concerned parties to take the path of diplomacy and avoid further escalation of this conflict that could threaten regional and international peace and security," it said. There are around 30,000 mostly Filipino caregivers in Israel and over 1,100 in Iran. The Philippines is one of the world's top labor-exporting nations with about 10 million skilled and unskilled workers scattered abroad, exposing them to civil strife and armed conflict, abuses, and unfair labor practices. Remittances from Filipino migrant workers constitute a significant source of the country's foreign exchange as they send home over $35 billion per year. "The welfare and safety of Filipinos in the region are of primordial concern, and the Philippine government will relentlessly continue to advance and prioritize their protection," the DFA said. Israel began attacking Iran last June 13, saying its longtime enemy was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran, which retaliated with missile and drone strikes against Israel, denied the accusation, noting its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes as a party to the international Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Israel is not a party to the NPT and is believed to be the only country in the Middle East to have nuclear weapons. Israel neither confirmed nor denied that. In a televised address, President Donald Trump said the US "obliterated" Iran's key nuclear facilities — Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow — and called the strikes a "spectacular military success." Iran vowed to retaliate. "The Philippines continues to reiterate the need for a peaceful and diplomatic solution to this crisis," the DFA said. The Philippine government on Friday raised crisis alert level 3 in Israel and Iran, urging Filipinos in the area to avail of voluntary repatriation amid ongoing armed hostilities between the two Middle Eastern countries. Philippine officials said it may enforce mandatory evacuations from Israel and Iran if the war escalates and the Armed Forces of the Philippines said it is prepared to help in a large-scale repatriation of Filipinos from the danger zones. The Philippines is also eyeing alternative exit routes for Filipinos, including Egypt and the Mediterranean, aside from Jordan, officials added. Most of the Filipino workers and residents in Israel and Iran have chosen to stay despite the alarming exchange of missile attacks between the Middle Eastern countries, Department of Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac said. However, Filipinos who would seek Philippine government assistance for repatriation may increase with the involvement of the US in the conflict, which is seen to further escalate tensions in the area. About 223 Filipinos have so far registered for repatriation from Israel, including a group of 26, who managed to cross safely to Jordan, which allowed them to stay for up to 72 hours to book a commercial flight to Manila. They are expected to arrive in Manila on Tuesday, Cacdac said. Some 8 Filipinos were injured in Israel due to Iran's missile attack, but seven have been discharged from hospitals. One, who was earlier reported to be seriously injured, is in stable condition, Philippine embassy officials said. Philippine embassies in the region, meanwhile, are ready to provide necessary assistance to Filipinos in their jurisdictions, the DFA said. —KG, GMA Integrated News