On the humanitarian situation in Gaza, the need to reach a ceasefire and the risks of regional escalation

B.whereas in its resolution of 19 October 2023, Parliament condemned, in the strongest possible terms, the barbaric atrocities committed by Hamas and other terrorist groups against Israel;

C.whereas the EU has listed Hamas as a terrorist group and further added two leading figures of the Hamas military wing to the EU terrorist list as of 7 December 2023;

D.whereas the Gaza Strip constitutes an integral part of the occupied Palestinian territories; whereas a two-state solution, with the State of Israel and the State of Palestine living side by side in peace, security and mutual recognition under the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states, and in full compliance with international law, is the only viable solution to the conflict;

E.whereas the local population in the Gaza Strip has been facing an ever deteriorating humanitarian crisis since 2007 owing to the Hamas regime and the Israeli blockade of the area;

F.whereas UN Security Council Resolution 2720, adopted on 22 December 2023, called for safe, unhindered and expanded humanitarian access to and for the creation of the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip;

G.whereas the internationally recognised Integrated Food Security Phase Classification estimates that the hostilities have caused catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity for the entire population of the Gaza Strip; whereas the UN estimates that 1.9 million people are considered internally displaced within the Gaza Strip; whereas over 23 000 Palestinians have been reported killed and over 59 000 are estimated to have been injured; whereas approximately 70 % of the fatalities have been women and children; whereas over 330 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, including by extremist settlers, since 7 October 2023; whereas the UN has recorded 404 Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians since 7 October 2023; whereas at least 148 UN staff, 337 health workers and 117 journalists have been killed; whereas over 60 % of the Gaza Strip’s housing units have reportedly been destroyed or damaged;

H.whereas the EU has dedicated over EUR 100 million in humanitarian aid to Palestinians in 2023 and has announced EUR 125 million in humanitarian aid for Palestinians in 2024;

1.Calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, an end to violence, for de-escalation and for full compliance with international law and international humanitarian law; stresses that targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure is a grave violation of international humanitarian law; calls on Israel to cease all indiscriminate attacks against civilians resulting in collective punishment of the population living in the Gaza Strip;

2.Reiterates its strong condemnation of the Hamas-led terrorist attacks against Israel on 7 October 2023; calls on Hamas and other groups to immediately and unconditionally release all hostages held in the Gaza Strip, to allow all hostages in need of medical care to access it immediately and to put an immediate end to any attacks against Israel’s territory and population; strongly condemns Hamas’s systematic use of sexualised violence as a weapon of war to spread fear and terror during the 7 October terrorist attacks;

3.Expresses deep concern about the dire and rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and its grave impact on the civilian population; underlines the urgent need for full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to and throughout the entire Gaza Strip;

4.Reiterates its deep concern about the disproportionate effect that the conflict is having on the lives and well-being of children, women and other civilians in vulnerable situations, and stresses the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence;

5.Emphasises the obligations of the parties to the conflict under international humanitarian law regarding the provision of humanitarian assistance; demands that all parties allow, facilitate and enable the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian civilian population throughout the Gaza Strip;

6.Calls for channels to be opened to provide humanitarian aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip and for these to be kept permanently open; urges Egypt and Israel to fully cooperate with the international community to establish humanitarian corridors to the Gaza Strip; reiterates its call for an immediate end to the blockade of the Gaza Strip;

7.Emphasises the crucial role of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, which is currently providing shelter for over 1 million internally displaced persons and has become the primary platform for humanitarian assistance to the population of the Gaza Strip; calls for the EU and the international community to continue giving political support and increased financial resources to the Agency to enable it to fulfil its mandate amid intensified needs and to effectively lead the humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip;

8.Recalls that civilian and humanitarian facilities, including hospitals, medical facilities, schools, places of worship and UN facilities, as well as humanitarian and medical personnel and their means of transport, must be respected and protected according to international humanitarian law; condemns the unprecedented killing of UN staff and humanitarian and medical personnel in the Gaza Strip; is deeply concerned about the situation of these personnel and gives its full support to them for continuing their efforts under dire conditions; further condemns the killing of journalists and media personnel, who must be treated and protected as civilians within war zones, in line with international humanitarian law;

9.Calls for those responsible for terrorist acts and for violations of international law to be held to account and calls, to that end, for all possible war crimes to be investigated; reiterates the EU’s strong support for the work of the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice;

10.Recalls that Israel has the right to defend itself within the limits of international law, which outlines that that all parties in a conflict must distinguish between combatants and civilians at all times and that civilians and civilian infrastructure must never be the target of attack; recalls that a full siege of an area endangering the lives of civilians by depriving them of goods essential for their survival is prohibited under international humanitarian law; condemns the repeated disregard of the EU’s and the international community’s calls to alleviate the humanitarian suffering in and provide safe access for humanitarian aid and personnel to the Gaza Strip;

11.Condemns the dehumanising and inflammatory statements by senior Israeli ministers and officials; further condemns the spike in antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Arab/anti-Palestinian racism across Europe;

12.Warns of the risk of the conflict escalating to encompass the wider Middle East; calls on all states and other actors concerned to show maximum restraint and work towards achieving a ceasefire; calls for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which calls for a complete cessation of hostilities between Israel and Lebanon;

13.Denounces the role played by third states and non-state entities in providing financial, material and operational support to Hamas; calls for thorough investigations to be launched to establish the origins of the funds and arms systems used by Hamas; calls for the EU to impose sanctions on the states and entities that facilitated the attacks, notably Iran and Qatar;

14.Recalls that acts of extrajudicial killing, including when countering terrorism, contravene international law, as stated by the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism and the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions;

15.Reiterates its call for an end to the occupation of the Palestinian territories and the establishment of a Palestinian State; recalls that Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank are illegal under international law; calls for the de-escalation of tensions in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, strongly condemns the rise in extremist settler violence committed against Palestinians and calls for targeted sanctions to be imposed on extremist settlers who violate human rights and international law;

16.Calls for the international community and the EU to mobilise all possible diplomatic and other means to achieve a permanent ceasefire, the immediate release of all hostages and the provision of humanitarian aid; commends the continued efforts made in this respect by High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič;

17.Recalls that respect for human rights and democratic principles constitutes an essential component of the EU-Israel Association Agreement; calls for the EU to make full use of the leverage provided by this agreement to demand an immediate end to violations and abuses in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip;

18.Calls on the Commission to continue providing EU funding to the Palestinian Authority; recalls that EU humanitarian aid to the civilian population in the Gaza Strip is a crucial lifeline for many of the most vulnerable Palestinians and is based on the general principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and the neutrality of humanitarian assistance;

19.Recalls that both Israelis and Palestinians have the right to live in security in their own state; underlines that the lack of a negotiated two-state solution can only result in new waves of violence; stresses again the importance of working towards a just and lasting peace between both sides, leading to two sovereign and democratic states living side by side in peace and security along the 1967 borders and with Jerusalem as the capital of both states;

20.Calls, in this context, on the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process to garner international support for the ‘Peace Day Effort’ for Middle East peace, launched in New York at the UN General Assembly in September 2023;

21.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the EU Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Knesset and the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Legislative Council and the Palestinian Authority.