Lithuania's Landsbergis, other EU foreign ministers to discuss Hamas-Israel conflict

VILNIUS – Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis will discuss the situation in Israel with his EU counterparts in an informal video conference on Tuesday.

The emergency talks come after the Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel.

"Landsbergis will join in from Oman with other EU foreign ministers attending the 27th session of the EU-GCC Joint Ministerial Council," the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said in a press release. 

The EU strongly condemned the unprecedented weekend attack by Hamas, which also triggered a series of Israeli strikes in Gaza. Hundreds of people have been killed on both sides of the conflict.

The EU has earmarked around 1.2 billion euros in assistance for Palestine, including funds for schools, hospitals and salaries, between 2021 and 2024, but the bloc's leaders will also discuss the fate of this aid after the Hamas attack.

The European Commission says that no aid has ever been allocated to finance Hamas or other militant groups.