EU commission president seeks sanctions and trade suspension against Israel

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said she plans to seek sanctions and a partial trade suspension against Israel over the war in Gaza.

The 27-nation EU is deeply divided in its approach to Israel and the Palestinians, and it is unclear whether a majority will be found to endorse such measures.

Ms von der Leyen added that the commission “will set up a Palestine donor group next month”, part of which will focus on Gaza’s future reconstruction.

The European Commission president said that the events in Gaza and the suffering of children and families “has shaken the conscience of the world”.

The Gaza Health Ministry says 126 Palestinians, including 26 children, have died of causes related to malnutrition since international experts announced a famine in Gaza City on August 22.

Ms von der Leyen added, to applause in the European Parliament at its meeting in Strasbourg, France: “Man-made famine can never be a weapon of war. For the sake of the children, for the sake of humanity. This must stop.”

Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar, in a social media post, said Ms von der Leyen had succumbed to pressures that undermine Israel-Europe relations. He said her actions will embolden Hamas.

Ms von der Leyen’s comments followed Israel’s military warning on Tuesday to Gaza City residents to evacuate ahead of its plans to take control of what it portrays as Hamas’s last remaining stronghold and where hundreds of thousands of people remain under conditions of famine.

An estimated one million Palestinians – around half of Gaza’s overall population – live in the area of north Gaza around Gaza City, according to the Israeli military and the United Nations. Many are exhausted from moving multiple times and unsure if travelling south will be safer.

The warnings directed at Gaza City – the first calling for its full evacuation – came before an Israeli strike on Tuesday targeting Hamas’s leaders in Qatar, where negotiations over ending the war in Gaza appeared to be at a standstill.

The strike on the territory of a US ally drew widespread condemnation from countries in the Middle East and beyond. It also marked a dramatic escalation in the region and risked upending talks aimed at ending the war and freeing hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.

Hamas claims its senior leadership survived the strike.

Ms von der Leyen also said she plans to freeze support to Israel given by the European Union’s executive branch, which would not require the approval of the 27 member countries.

It was not immediately clear how much financial support the executive branch, known as the European Commission, provides to Israel and what it is used for.

“We will put our bilateral support to Israel on hold. We will stop all payments in these areas, without affecting our work with Israeli civil society or Yad Vashem,” the Holocaust memorial, Ms von der Leyen told EU politicians.

The commission also gives support to the Palestinian Authority.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people on October 7 2023, and killed some 1,200 people, mostly Israeli civilians. Forty-eight hostages are still held inside Gaza, around 20 of them believed to be alive.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 64,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The ministry, which is under Gaza’s Hamas government, does not differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half of those killed were women and children. The UN and other international organisations see its figures as the most reliable statistics on war casualties.

Large parts of major cities in Gaza have been completely destroyed and around 90% of some two million Palestinians have been displaced.