European Union foreign ministers remained divided on Saturday over the war in Gaza, with some urging strong economic pressure on Israel while others signalled they would not go that far.

"It’s clear that member states disagree on how to get the Israeli government to change course. The options are clear and remain on the table. We have presented an options paper, but the problem is that not all EU member states are on board," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told reporters after the meeting in Copenhagen.

Kallas said the ministers have urged the United States to reconsider its decision not to allow Palestinian officials to take part in the UN General Assembly in New York.

Denmark’s foreign minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said Israeli actions were undermining a two-state solution to the Middle East crisis, and taking action against that would not make Hamas stronger.

"You could argue the opposite; because if we do not intervene, if we do not have any actions, then we give room to the most extremist environment at both sides of the conflict."

A two-state solution — the creation of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza living alongside Israel — has looked increasingly remote amid the devastation in Gaza from Israel’s war against Hamas and the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The EU foreign policy chief also said she had asked EU governments to submit proposals next week for a new package of sanctions on Russia over the conflict with Ukraine. (Reuters)