European Union (EU) envoy to the Middle East Marc Otte told the Hebrew newspaper Haaretz that Israel's restrictions at Gaza crossings have strengthened Hamas at the expense of Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. "Israel's tactics in the Gaza Strip did not work," he said.

He warned that "the implications of Israeli activity may be that Gaza becomes Somalia." Otte also stated that his talks with Egyptian officials showed that Cairo is preparing plans to deal with the new situation at the Rafiah border while Israel is uncertain what to do.