| 27.02.2009 | 12:00 UTC
EU envoy visits Gaza to assess extent of devastation
European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana is on a visit to the war-torn Gaza Strip. He's the highest ranking European official to visit the territory since the Islamist Hamas seized power in the Palestinian territory in June 2007. However, Solana was not slated to meet with representatives of Hamas, which has been boycotted by Western countries as a terror group. He was due to view first-hand the devastation wrought by Israel's three-week military offensive that killed more than 1,300 Palestinians. Solana said he came to express solidarity with the people of Gaza and to tell them the EU would help them in the reconstruction process. The visit comes ahead of an international conference on rebuilding Gaza which is set to begin in Cairo on Monday. DW
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