The humanitarian impact of recent conflict between Israel and Hezbollah is drawing increased scrutiny, with calls for the European Union to reassess its relationship with Israel. Irish MEP Barry Andrews, after visiting Beirut last month, reported worsening conditions for those displaced by Israeli airstrikes and complying with evacuation orders in southern Lebanon.
Conditions Worsen for Displaced Lebanese
At makeshift shelters – converted schools – conditions were reportedly worse than during Israel’s last incursion in 2024. “There are dirty mattresses, dirty blankets, [people] are getting infections, they are getting rashes,” Andrews said, describing a picture of increasing hardship compounded by swingeing aid budget cuts.
Escalation of Conflict
Andrews’ visit followed a period of escalating tensions, triggered when Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy, fired rockets into Israel, prompting massive retaliatory strikes by Israeli forces. He was among the first European lawmakers to call for the EU to revive sanctions against Israel, citing not only the attacks on Lebanon but also state-backed settler violence in the West Bank, attacks on health workers in Gaza, and Israel’s potential reinstatement of the death penalty against Palestinians after a recent vote in the Knesset.
EU Response and Potential Action
Despite warnings from Western leaders against a ground offensive in Lebanon, and condemnation of Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel, the EU’s response has been largely verbal. In the past four weeks, more than 1,240 people have been killed in Lebanon, including at least 124 children, while over 1.1 million have been displaced. At least 673 people have been killed in Gaza since the October ceasefire, bringing the total death toll in Gaza to 72,260.
Critics argue the EU could exert greater pressure through its association agreement with Israel, a commerce and cooperation accord underpinning a €68bn (£59bn) trading relationship. Some, like Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff, the former EU representative to the Palestinian territories, advocate for suspending the agreement, halting military support, and ceasing trade with illegal settlements.
Andrews described the EU’s response to the conflict as “weak and pathetic,” suggesting Israel has been given a “permission slip for endless war crimes.” The European Commission condemned the Knesset vote on the death penalty as “very concerning” and “a clear step backwards,” a sentiment echoed by the Council of Europe, which deemed the vote incompatible with contemporary human rights standards.
EU officials maintain diplomatic engagement with Israel is ongoing. Concerns remain regarding the humanitarian situation in Gaza and violence in the West Bank, which the Israeli state has been accused of enabling. The EU has also been historically divided on its stance towards Israel, with differing views among member states and the influence of figures like Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
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