Sawt Falasteen - European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration

Heads of state or government from France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Slovenia and Croatia were joined by the king of Jordan, Abdullah II, for the one-day meeting in the Cypriot city of Paphos.

"Only a few miles away from Cyprus, we have a war. We have a difficult situation," the president of the island, Nikos Christodoulides, said as he opened the summit.

Countries such as Italy, Greece and Spain are the main arrival points in the EU for migrants displaced by war or fleeing poverty, with around 55,000 people crossing the Mediterranean in the first six months of the year, EU data shows.

Israel's ongoing bombardment of Gaza, its expanding war against Hezbollah in Lebanon and a looming retaliation against Iran's strikes have raised fears of a wider regional conflict that would have a major impact on migrant flows, as well as Europe's security and economy.

In the Middle East, "our levers are limited, but it's about creating more convergence at a European level", an aide to French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters ahead of the summit.

Macron angered Israel's government last weekend by suggesting that countries should "stop delivering weapons to fight in Gaza", while specifying that France was not supplying any itself.

The European Union has historically been one of the biggest funders of humanitarian projects in the Palestinian territories and Friday's meeting is set to discuss "an increase in humanitarian aid for Gaza", the French aide said.

Israel has heavily restricted aid deliveries into Gaza, meaning hospitals and clinics lack supplies, while food shortages have caused malnutrition and worsened disease, aid workers say.

"It will also be an opportunity to talk about the way the European Union can do more for the West Bank and the need to reinforce the Palestinian Authority," the French aide continued.

Other items on the agenda for Friday's meeting in Cyprus include coordinating on issues such as forest fires, EU competitiveness and bilateral EU-Jordan relations.

Israel launched a major offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip after last year's October 7 attack that resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures, which includes hostages killed in captivity.

According to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed 42,126 people in Gaza, figures that the UN has described as reliable.

C.Hamad--SF-PST