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

D.whereas in the early morning of 7 October 2023, close to the 50th anniversary of the attack that started the Yom Kippur War, Hamas launched an audacious and brutal assault on southern Israel by land, sky and sea; whereas Hamas attacked Israel by firing over 3 000 rockets, destroying Israel’s key surveillance and communication towers using drones, launching numerous paragliders and destroying the border fence between Gaza and Israel; whereas over 3 000 Hamas and other Palestinian terrorists crossed the border and slaughtered over 1 200 men, women and children in more than 15 villages and cities, and took at least 240 people to Gaza as hostages, including women, young children and elderly people, some of whom are Holocaust survivors; whereas Palestinian terrorists also gunned down hundreds of innocent civilians at an outdoor dance event; whereas among those killed and taken hostage were numerous foreign nationals, including European citizens; whereas Hamas reportedly prepared for the terror attack meticulously and received support from Iran; whereas questions have been raised by Western intelligence services about Qatar’s prior knowledge of the 7 October 2023 attack by Hamas against Israel;

E.whereas among the most barbaric atrocities committed by hundreds of Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist organisations against Israeli civilians and soldiers on 7 October 2023 were the killing of parents in front of their children and children in front of their parents, beheadings, including of babies, the rape of women, the torture, slaughter and torching to death of Israeli civilians and soldiers and the burning of houses and properties with people alive inside them, which amount to war crimes; whereas Hamas initially recorded its terrorist activities and atrocities and even streamed them online, but after drawing international condemnation it sought to deny having ever committed these crimes;

F.whereas the 7 October 2023 attack by Hamas has dragged Israel into a war against it in Gaza; whereas although Hamas has been calling for a ceasefire, it continues to indiscriminately shoot rockets at Israel on a daily basis; whereas the Israeli Government has repeatedly stated that it will continue fighting Hamas until all Israeli hostages being held in Gaza are safely released and until the terrorist organisation is defeated; whereas 136 Israeli hostages are still being held captive in Gaza by Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist organisations despite international efforts to have them released; whereas a number of Israeli hostages are believed to no longer be alive;

G.whereas between 24 and 30 November 2023, Hamas released 81 Israeli hostages as part of an Egyptian-Qatari mediated deal that paused fighting in the Gaza Strip and allowed more humanitarian aid to enter; whereas Hamas released 23 Thai nationals, one Filipino and three Israeli-Russian dual citizens under separate arrangements with Thailand, the Philippines and Russia; whereas the deal to lengthen the humanitarian pause and release more Israeli hostages collapsed on 1 December 2023, as Hamas refused to provide a list of the remaining women and children in captivity and resumed launching rockets indiscriminately at Israel; whereas the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), or any other international organisation, has still not been allowed access by Hamas to the Israeli hostages still being held captive in order to verify their medical condition and provide them with the required medical care;

H.whereas the hostages that were freed during the humanitarian pause, mainly women and children, have recounted psychological, physical and sexual abuse by their captors; whereas Hamas has also killed a number of Israeli hostages in captivity;

I.whereas following the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, Israel and the US have consistently stated that Hamas should not be able to play any role in the future of Gaza; whereas Israel has also repeatedly stated that it does not seek to permanently occupy Gaza or displace its civilian population; whereas on 1 January 2024, Israel announced a new phase in its war against Hamas by reducing the number of Israel Defense Force (IDF) soldiers in Gaza;

J.whereas Israel allows the transfer of humanitarian aid to Gaza without restriction and has, to date, allowed over 7 500 trucks with over 138 000 tonnes of aid, including water, food, medical equipment and fuel, to enter Gaza, with more expected in the near future; whereas over half of the aid brought into Gaza is food; whereas issues have been reported with the distribution of aid within Gaza to those most in need, including Hamas taking over aid convoys entering Gaza and shooting at any Palestinian civilian approaching them; whereas it has been reported that Hamas has redirected a significant amount of aid to its own fighters and other EU-listed Palestinian terrorist groups operating in Gaza; whereas Egypt has decided that, in view of Hamas’ brutality, it cannot fully open its border with Gaza, while allowing the transfer of humanitarian aid into Gaza and prioritising the security screening of people fleeing the Gaza Strip;

K.whereas according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza, 24 100 Palestinians have died and over 60 000 have been wounded since 7 October 2023; whereas the numbers and data provided by the EU-listed terrorist organisation Hamas are unreliable and often include Hamas combatants as well as civilians; whereas as a result of the strong support for Hamas among Palestinians and the use of guerrilla tactics by Palestinian terrorist groups, it is challenging to distinguish between civilian and military casualties; whereas over 1 200 Israelis have been killed and over 5 400 have been wounded since 7 October 2023; whereas the Iron Dome and David’s Sling missile defence systems have shot down a large number of the over 11 000 rockets that have been launched at Israel, thereby significantly limiting the number of Israeli casualties and saving the lives of both Arab and Jewish Israelis;

L.whereas according to Palestinian public polls, a large majority of Palestinians support ‘armed resistance’ against Israel, with 72 % believing that Hamas’ decision to launch the attack of 7 October 2023 was correct; whereas according to the same polls, if elections were to take place in the Palestinian territories, Hamas would have a very high likelihood of winning them; whereas 90 % of Palestinians want President Abbas to resign;

M.whereas Iranian proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon continues to launch rockets at Israel so as to provoke an escalation and open a second front on Israel’s northern border; whereas Israel has reacted with constraint, while at the same time seeking military deterrence against Hezbollah’s aggression; whereas the Israeli Government and the IDF have stated that they are not interested in opening a new northern front;

N.whereas Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been launching drone strikes and rockets at Israel’s southern city of Eilat and dozens of commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea; whereas the Houthis’ illegal, indiscriminate and reckless attacks on international shipping have impacted 55 nations so far, including by endangering the lives of hundreds of mariners; whereas as a result of the Houthis’ attacks, the US has set up the multinational coalition ‘Operation Prosperity Guardian’ to safeguard shipping in the Red Sea; whereas on 12 January 2024, the US, in coordination with British troops and with support from Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and Bahrain, carried out the first strikes on Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen;

O.whereas of the 21 organisations listed on the EU terrorist list, seven are Palestinian, including Hamas; whereas terrorism, incitement and violence are incompatible with the peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; whereas the EU and the international community have repeatedly recognised Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorism;

1.Deplores the terrorism and war crimes committed by Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups against Israel and the Israeli people; condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the reported torture and psychological and sexual abuse by Hamas against Israeli hostages, including children;

2.Regrets the loss of innocent lives and the heavy toll on civilians in the ongoing war; expresses its deepest sorrow and full solidarity with the innocent victims on both sides, as well as their families and loved ones, as a result of Hamas’ despicable attack against Israel and its consequences; expresses concern at the high reported death toll among Palestinians, despite IDF efforts to minimise innocent Palestinian civilian deaths through the use of targeted and prior warning of imminent airstrikes, among other things; deplores Hamas’ abuse of Palestinian civilian infrastructure, its combat operations in densely civilian areas, its building of tunnels and its use of human shields;

3.Condemns the fact that the ICRC and the Red Crescent have not made sufficient efforts to ensure the well-being of Israeli hostages; calls for the ICRC to be given immediate access to all Israeli hostages being held in Gaza and to provide them with the necessary medical care; calls for all hostages to be immediately, safely and unconditionally released; considers the announcement – albeit late – that medication will be transferred to the Israeli hostages being held in Gaza as a positive step; reiterates, however, that their captivity in Gaza remains a war crime;

4.Stresses that international law and international humanitarian law must be applied at all times; reiterates Israel’s right to defend itself in accordance with international law; strongly rejects any moral equivalence between Hamas or any other Palestinian terrorist organisation and Israel or the Israeli army’s operations;

5.Supports the continuation of humanitarian aid allowed by Israel and Egypt to enter Gaza and the fact that it reaches the civilians most in need; strongly condemns Hamas’ hijacking and looting of aid convoys; stresses that the current war began with Hamas’ terrorist attack against Israel on 7 October 2023 and that any agreement to a ceasefire must include the release of all Israeli hostages being held captive in Gaza, as well as accountability for those responsible for the most brutal acts of terror and war crimes;

6.Underlines that there can be no future role for Hamas or any other terrorist group in Gaza, especially in the light of the statements by Hamas’ leadership that it would re-commit the atrocities of 7 October 2023 ‘again and again’; reiterates that terrorism, incitement and violence are incompatible with the peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; condemns the war crimes committed by Hamas’ leadership both in Gaza and abroad and calls for the perpetrators to be held to account; calls on the Palestinian Authority to distance itself from incitement and terrorist organisations and to condemn Palestinian terrorism in the strongest possible terms;

7.Reiterates that no EU funding may go, either directly or indirectly, to terrorist organisations, persons affiliated with terrorist organisations or to activities that incite hatred and violence; expresses grave concern about people affiliated with EU-listed terrorist organisations running or seeking to run for Palestinian political office;

8.Calls for the EU, in cooperation with the Member States, to develop a comprehensive strategy aimed at halting the radicalisation of young Palestinians, both within Palestinian society and in Palestinian and Arab communities in the Member States; deplores the support for Hamas, terrorism and incitement to murder chanted on European streets and by certain political parties and personalities in Europe; urges local authorities to crack down on support for Hamas’ terrorism and the calls made for the murder of Jews, Americans and Christians; expresses further concern about attacks on Jewish businesses and people in Europe amid a rise in antisemitism in certain Member States among specific groups;

9.Condemns, in the strongest possible terms, Iran and Russia’s growing interference in the Middle East, including through their support for proxies such as Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, the Houthis and the criminal Assad regime; condemns, furthermore, the proliferation of Iranian missiles and drones, which also severely undermine European security; recalls the need for the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006);

10.Warns against any escalation of aggression by Iran and its proxies against Israel; deplores the Houthi attacks against Israel and commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea; welcomes, in this light, the US-led ‘Operation Prosperity Guardian’ to safeguard shipping in the Red Sea and freedom of navigation, which must be ensured at all times;

11.Believes that conflict, terrorism and instability on Israel’s borders negatively affect the prospects for a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; calls for the EU to immediately designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Houthis and Hezbollah in full as terrorist organisations; calls for Iranian diplomatic missions in Europe to be limited given Iran’s involvement in and support for terrorist activities worldwide;

12.Calls for an investigation to expose and condemn Hamas’ international contacts, including with Russia, Iran and radical leftist movements, and the ongoing support Hamas receives from around the world to spread terror;

13.Deplores the incitement to violence, eulogising of terrorists, antisemitism and hate speech taught in schools in Gaza via Palestinian Authority textbooks and additional material developed by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which are taught in both UNRWA schools and Hamas-run schools in Gaza; stresses that the perpetrators of the Hamas attack on Israel are graduates of the Gaza education system, in which textbooks and other educational material developed using EU funds are taught; recalls that textbooks paid for with EU funds need to comply with UNESCO standards of peace and tolerance; supports an investigation into the UNRWA’s activities in Gaza and its ability to work independently from interference by Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist organisations; calls for immediate measures to be taken against UNRWA teachers and staff who have celebrated, praised or glorified Hamas’ attack against Israel;

14.Condemns the statements by the Prime Ministers of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, and of Belgium, Alexander De Croo, on 23 November 2023 in the light of Israel’s legitimate right to defend itself against Hamas; stresses that these statements were met with shameful and dishonourable congratulations by the EU-listed terrorist organisation Hamas to both European Prime Ministers;

15.Withdraws its recommendation of 12 July 2023 to the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on relations with the Palestinian Authority, which includes a call to release all Palestinian political prisoners, including members of Hamas and other terrorist organisations;

16.Supports the International Court of Justice; sharply rejects, however, the unfounded allegations that Israel is ‘committing genocide in Gaza’ brought forward by South Africa and the country’s attempts to deny Israel its right to self-defence against Palestinian terrorism; believes that the attack of 7 October 2023 by Hamas, including the massacres against Israelis and its intent to destroy Israel, meet the genocide criteria; fully rejects, furthermore, South Africa’s close relations with Hamas, including its Foreign Minister’s phone call with senior Hamas figure Ismail Haniyeh, and the welcoming of a senior Hamas delegation, just 10 days and two months respectively after the atrocities of 7 October 2023;

17.Underlines that international legal forums should not be misused for political instrumentalisation, including lawfare; reminds all parties that the adoption of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide came in the wake of the Second World War following the Holocaust, during which six million Jewish people, among others, were systematically killed by Nazi Germany;

18.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 EU Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Knesset and the Government of Israel, the President of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian Legislative Council.