The bloc’s solidarity with Israel after the terror attack of Oct. 7, 2023 — which saw several thousand rockets sent into Israel, almost 1,200 people murdered and more than 250 taken hostage — was a sincere and deeply felt reaction to the brutality of Hamas.
But that solidarity in response to Hamas’s atrocities is now devolving into complicity with Isreal’s atrocities.
Israel’s ensuing military campaign has devastated Gaza, killing over 60,000 Palestinians, maiming and orphaning tens of thousands of children, and pushing millions toward starvation. Gaza’s infrastructure has been obliterated. Schools, homes and hospitals lie in ruins. Humanitarian aid is restricted and sporadic, with more than half-a-million people are enduring famine-like conditions.
There’s also little to suggest a major shift by Israel in the weeks since EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas announced the new agreement. Deaths by malnutrition in Gaza have only accelerated as Israel continues to block most food, water and aid from reaching those in need.
Just this week, the U.N. confirmed that since May 2025, the Israeli military killed nearly 1,400 Palestinians in Gaza who were trying to access food. Nearly 200 people have been documented to have died of hunger, including 96 children. And doctors describe people collapsing in the streets from lack of food and water. They’re struggling to tend to the sick and dying, while also trying to find food for themselves and their families.
The EU-Israel agreement can’t become a blank check for Israeli impunity. Europe’s leaders must insist on accountability, oversight and verification to ensure that Israel is meeting basic expectations of humanitarian conduct.