Senior EU official says Israel’s war on Gaza is genocide

One of the European Union's most senior officials on Thursday called Israel's war in Gaza a "genocide".

"The genocide in Gaza exposes Europe's failure to act and speak with one voice, even as protests spread across European cities and 14 UN Security Council members call for an immediate ceasefire," European Commission vice president Teresa Ribera said during a speech in Paris.

Top EU officials have so far shied away from calling Israel's actions in the territory a genocide. 

The EU has struggled to take steps over Israeli actions due to disagreements between member states pushing for action against Israel and those backing the country.

The splits are also present inside the EU's executive, where Spanish commissioner Ribera has expressed frustration over the failure to push on the issue. 

Ribera's use of the term genocide could put more pressure on EU commission chief Ursula von der Leyen to take a tougher stance against Israel.

Von der Leyen's commission in July proposed cutting funding to Israeli start-ups over the war in Gaza, but so far the move has not got the backing of a majority of countries.

Reporting from AFP