The European Union and many of its leaders have recently chosen to rebuke Israel; yet these words ring hollow, as they fail to take the substantive action needed to stop the slaughter, and hypocritically continue to provide weapons to Israel that kill, burn, or permanently disable the people who end up in our hospitals. This must stop.

There was never a time for hesitation and inhumane double standards. Your words and actions are a test of your credibility and leadership. Now is a moment that will define your legacy and determine whether laws meant to protect civilians in war retain any meaning at all. It requires political courage, legal responsibility, and moral commitment. The scale of suffering in Gaza demands more than your empty rhetoric.

Every delay, every equivocation, and every policy that permits the machinery of devastation to roll forward with impunity is an act of complicity.

We urge the European Union and its 27 Member States to act decisively and finally use the leverage they have on Israel in order to:

LIFT THE SIEGE

Blocking lifesaving assistance is not a legitimate security measure – it is a war crime. Claims of aid diversion cannot begin to justify withholding aid from over two million people. This is collective punishment. Every delay is costing lives.

DEFEND HUMANITARIAN ACTION

Reject any mechanism that instrumentalises aid or uses humanitarian relief as a bargaining chip. Aid must be based on needs. Policies that subordinate aid to military strategy are not only cynical; they are deadly.

ACTIONS NOT WORDS

Many European governments have spoken about the appalling atrocities we see Israel perpetuate in Gaza, yet they continue sending the weapons that kill our patients and colleagues. Governments must end their complicity in this campaign of ethnic cleansing.

BOOST MEDICAL EVACUATIONS

Today, around 13,000 people, including more than 4,500 children, remain in urgent need of medical evacuation, with the right to return. Nevertheless, despite these needs and the proven capacity of the European Union, only a few hundred patients have been welcomed by European Member States. Member States must do more to show that solidarity isn’t just words.

You can and must act now.

Sincerely,
Dr Christos Christou, MSF International President
Christopher Lockyear, Secretary General, MSF International