UPDATED: EU continues talks on humanitarian ceasefire in Israel-Hamas war

BRUSSELS, Oct 23 (Reuters) – EU countries are still discussing the idea of a humanitarian ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas but there are different ways to get much-needed aid to Palestinians in Gaza, Swedish foreign minister Tobias Billstrom said on Monday.

“The discussions are ongoing, but the question really isn’t about a ceasefire, but about how to bring aid forward and that can be done in very many different ways,” he told reporters after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.

He said Sweden preferred a U.N. proposal for a humanitarian corridor.

Earlier on Monday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell voiced support for a “humanitarian pause” but some of the bloc’s foreign ministers expressed reservations about the idea.

“Now the most important thing is for humanitarian support to go into Gaza,” Borrell told reporters as he arrived for a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.

Borrell said the ministers would discuss the call from U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for a pause to allow much more humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians to enter Gaza.

“I cannot anticipate the result of the meeting but it is certainly something which the ministers will have to discuss … The Secretary-General of the United Nations asked for it very much,” Borrell said.

“Personally, I think a humanitarian pause is needed in order to allow humanitarian support to come in and be distributed,” he said.