• Egypt says it has also been in close contact with Israel and Hamas to try to prevent further escalation in fighting

EU foreign ministers will on Tuesday hold urgent talks on the situation in Israel and Gaza, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.

“I am convening tomorrow an emergency meeting of EU Foreign Ministers to address the situation in Israel and in the region,” Borrell wrote in a social media post Monday.

Borrell and a number of EU foreign ministers are currently in Oman for long-planned talks with Gulf states from the Gulf Cooperation Council.

A spokesman in Brussels said the EU talks would be held in a hybrid video and in-person format to allow those foreign ministers not in Muscat to participate.

Meanwhile, Egypt has been in close contact with Israel and Hamas to try to prevent further escalation in fighting between them and ensure the protection of Israelis taken hostage by Palestinian militants, two Egyptian security sources said on Monday.

Egypt had urged Israel to exercise restraint and Hamas to hold its captives in good condition to keep open the possibility of de-escalation soon, although successive Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip made mediation difficult, said the sources, speaking on customary condition of anonymity.

More than 700 Israelis have been killed and at least 100 kidnapped in the assault that has left the country reeling and sparked fears of a broader escalation in the region.

The reprisal bombing campaign by Israel in Gaza has killed 493 people, according to Palestinian officials.

Reuters & AP