Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp has said Israel must now demonstrate that it is genuinely improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza, after a meeting of 27 EU foreign ministers failed to reach agreement on sanctions or other measures.
Speaking after the talks in Brussels, Veldkamp said that while the EU had drawn up a list of possible measures to pressure Israel into complying with earlier commitments, these must remain credible. “They cannot just be measures on paper. Everyone agrees: they must be truly implemented,” he told reporters.
EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said 10 possible measures remain under discussion, including the suspension of visa-free travel and the blocking of imports from the Jewish settlements, but no action will be taken for now.
She said the package is intended as leverage if Israel fails to meet its obligations, pointing to “positive signals,” such as more border crossings opening and an increase in aid deliveries.
Veldkamp said Israel is still not allowing enough trucks through to Gaza, but said the volume had risen in recent days. “Yesterday there were around 180 trucks, and the day before about 160,” he said. However, the source of his figures is unclear.
The United Nations said it was aware of Veldkamp’s remarks but that its local staff reported lower figures for UN-operated deliveries.
The Israeli military body COGAT, which coordinates aid deliveries, said 160 trucks entered Gaza yesterday and 150 on Sunday. But that total includes vehicles operated by the controversial US-Israeli group GHF, which the EU has explicitly said it does not recognise as a partner.
The UN has warned that 500 to 600 aid trucks are needed every day to meet Gaza’s basic needs. Hundreds of thousands of people are suffering from acute malnutrition, and access remains limited to a small number of food distribution points. According to the UN, 875 people have been killed by Israeli forces at those locations over the past six weeks.
Despite the lack of consensus in Brussels, Veldkamp welcomed the fact that all the proposed measures against Israel remained under consideration.
“All the options identified by the European Commission stayed on the table,” he said, adding that several member states, “large and small,” had pushed to remove certain proposals or avoid criticising Israel altogether.
Aid groups
Aid groups expressed strong disappointment at the outcome and Oxfam Novib described the talks as a failure.
“Despite months of work, a report with clear conclusions and a list of potential sanctions, EU foreign ministers, including minister Veldkamp, have once again decided to do nothing,” the group said. “This means continuing to support Israel while genocide continues in Gaza and Europe’s complicity goes on.”
Amnesty International said the EU was betraying its own principles by maintaining its deal with Israel. “This will go down in history as one of the most shameful moments in the EU’s history,” the organisation said.
EU leaders will look at the situation in two weeks. Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar said the news is “an important diplomatic victory“.
