Several European leaders have signaled a hardening attitude toward Israel in recent weeks, as the death toll in the besieged enclave approached 60,000, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen earlier this week called reports of the suffering in Gaza “unbearable” and said “it must stop now.”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni last week lashed out at Israel over an attack on a Catholic church in Gaza that killed three people. Meloni rebuked Israel’s wartime conduct more broadly in her most critical comments to date, calling the killing of civilians “unacceptable.” Rome is yet to recognize Palestine.
The U.N. has warned that Israel is blocking sufficient aid from reaching Gaza, where a growing number of starvation-related deaths have been reported. “People in Gaza are neither dead nor alive, they are walking corpses,” said Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency.
However, Israel denies it is orchestrating a blockade of the war-torn territory. In an interview with POLITICO on Thursday, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar insisted that “the problem is the U.N. is not distributing” aid.
The U.N. has warned that Israel is blocking sufficient aid from reaching Gaza. | Mohammed Saber/EPA
The EU’s chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas, announced a deal with Israel earlier this month to let more aid trucks into Gaza. The bloc is assessing its options after finding the country in breach of its human rights obligations under an association agreement, with foreign ministers slated to discuss potential consequences during a meeting next month.
This story has been updated.