The EU and 24 other major countries on Tuesday denounced a "famine" situation in Gaza, calling for "urgent" action to end it. "The humanitarian distress in the Gaza Strip is reaching an unimaginable level. A famine is taking place before our eyes," they wrote in a statement.
These signatories urge Israel to "authorize all humanitarian aid convoys from international NGOs and to lift the obstacles preventing humanitarian workers from intervening." This statement is signed by the head of diplomacy of the European Union, Kaja Kallas, and the foreign ministers of 17 states, including France, but not Germany.
The European Union still divided
The twenty-seven have been very divided on the attitude to adopt towards Israel since the beginning of the war, in response to the attack carried out on October 7, 2023, on Israeli soil by Hamas.
Several countries, including Germany, have long insisted on Israel's right to defend itself, in compliance with international law, while others, like Spain, denounce a "genocide" against the people of Palestine. Germany, however, initiated a change of course on Friday, announcing the suspension of arms exports to the State of Israel.
Within the Commission itself, the lines are also beginning to shift. In an interview given to Politico, its vice-president Teresa Ribera considered that the situation in Gaza "very much resembled" a "genocide."
Source: 20minutes.fr, 12/08/25