ANKARA 

The EU’s humanitarian chief Janez Lenarcic on Thursday slammed the Israeli army’s major military offensive in the occupied West Bank.

“The situation in the occupied #WestBank is deteriorating further, with indiscriminate use of Israeli military force and settler violence against civilians and extensive destruction of homes and infrastructure, in violation of international law and human rights,” said Commissioner for Crisis Management in the European Commission Janez Lenarcic on X.

On Wednesday, the Israeli army launched a major military operation in the northern West Bank, the largest in two decades, killing 17 Palestinians, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called for the "temporary evacuation" of Palestinian civilians as well as "whatever steps are required" to carry out the operation.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack last Oct. 7, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

The onslaught has resulted in more than 40,500 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and over 93,700 injuries, according to local health authorities.

An ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where over one million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.