The head of the EU foreign policy, Kaja Kallas, said on Tuesday that the block left the door open to action against Israel during the Gaza war if the humanitarian situation does not improve.
Kallas proposed 10 potential options after Israel concluded a cooperation agreement between the two parties for reasons of human rights.
The measures range from the suspension of the entire agreement or the reduction of trade links to the sanction of Israeli ministers, to the taxation of an arms embargo and to travel without visa.
Despite increasing anger at the devastation in Gaza, the EU states remain divided on how to attack Israel and there was no critical mass to take the movements at a meeting of the EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
“We will keep these options on the table and will be ready to act if Israel does not respect its promises,” Kallas told journalists.
“The objective is not to punish Israel. The goal is to really improve the situation in Gaza.”
This occurs after Kallas announced on Thursday an agreement with Israel to open more entry points and allow more food.
The two million residents of Gaza face disastrous humanitarian conditions because Israel has seriously limited aid during their war with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
“We see positive signs with regard to the opening of level passages, we see positive signs to rebuild the electricity lines, provide water, as well as more to come humanitarian aid trucks,” Kallas said on Monday.
But she said that the situation in Gaza remained “catastrophic”.
“Of course, we have to see more to see a real improvement for people in the field,” she said.
Find out more: At least 11 gasans killed in Israeli strikes
Irish Minister Thomas Byrne, whose country was one of the most difficult EU on Israel, said Kallas had committed to updating the Member States every two weeks on the progress of humanitarian access to Gaza.
“So far, we have not really seen the implementation, perhaps very small actions, but there are still massacres,” he said.
“So we have to see the action and we have to use our lever effect.”
While the EU seems unable to take other movements against Israel, the simple fact of going to this stage has been a considerable step.
The block only agreed to revise the cooperation agreement after Israel revived military operations in Gaza after the collapse of a cease-fire in March.
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Until then, deep divisions between the countries supporting Israel and those which are more favorable to the Palestinians have made any movement paralyze.
But the divisions within the block mean that she had a hard time having a major impact on the war in Gaza and that the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel, Gideon Saar, had predicted with confidence that the block would no longer take measures on Monday.
The war in Gaza was launched by the attack on October 7, 2023 of Hamas against Israel, which resulted in 1,219 deaths, most of them, according to an AFP count based on official figures.
Out of 251 people taken hostage by Hamas, 49 are still detained in Gaza, including 27, the Israeli soldiers said they died.
The Ministry of Health of Hamas Gaza says that at least 58,386 Palestinians, most civilians, were killed in the reprisal campaign in Israel. The UN considers these reliable figures.
Israel and Hamas have been in indirect talks for two weeks on a new ceasefire agreement, but talks seem to be deadlocked.
