EU leaders will today debate calling for a “humanitarian pause” in Israel’s war against Hamas, as the bloc grapples with another conflict on its fringes alongside Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, AFP reports.

The 27-nation bloc has long been split between more pro-Palestinian members such as Ireland and Spain, and staunch backers of Israel including Germany and Austria.

After days of negotiations, a draft statement for the summit calls “for continued, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access and aid to reach those in need through all necessary measures including a humanitarian pause”.

That statement — which could change when leaders meet in Brussels — falls short of demands from the United Nations for a “ceasefire”. Germany, wary of urging a more definitive halt that could tie Israel’s hands, has mooted calls for humanitarian “windows” or “pauses” in the plural.

“Letters, commas, language matter, and that’s how you find agreements,” said a senior EU official. But diplomats from some EU nations warn that delays over finding the right words as the death toll mounts are hitting the bloc’s global standing and leaving it flailing in the face of developments.