The European Union has criticised the situation surrounding the food distribution sites operated by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), Al Jazeera reports.

“What’s happening around those distribution centres … the situation is untenable. It should not be tolerated, and the violence should cease immediately,” EU Commission spokesperson Anouar El Anouni told a briefing in Brussels.

Reiterating the EU’s longstanding position, El Anouni stressed that humanitarian aid must never be “politicised or militarised”, and should be delivered in line with core humanitarian principles under the coordination of the UN.

“As the European Union, we do not finance this initiative. We are not financing this initiative, and we’re also not cooperating with it,” he added.