Europe has played  more diplomatically biased role in a humanitarian crises unfolding in Gaza. The Palestinian people in Gaza have long faced atrocities which have been made even worse by Israel since October 07, 2023. Israel has killed tens of thousands of innocent people and raised whole infrastructure to the ground. Gaza’s people have been forced to displace, and aid has been blocked leading to starvation of hundreds of thousands of humans. This whole brutality makes it one of the most severe humanitarian crisis that has ever been witnessed. The role played by Europe, that prides itself of being a defender of human rights, is greatly in question with relevance to this condition.

Europe has given aid to Gaza on humanitarian basis but it is quite less as compared to the extent which is needed to manage the crisis. According to the Council of the European Union, the EU has sent 1.39 billion euros in humanitarian assistance since October 07, 2023. This aid focused four key areas including food, health, water and shelter. The data also shows that about 4800 tonnes of cargo has been sent as assistance by 74 flights as of July 31, 2025. This is the aid which has been sent to feed about 2 million displaced people, every one of which needs humanitarian assistance, in Gaza. The amount in aid is severely low because this can only feed 2 million people for less than two days, and Israel’s blockade of all supplies makes the delivery further in doubt.

The diplomatic role opted by Europe with regards to situation in Gaza is also more inclined towards Israel. The support of Israel when it is committing war crimes by displacing, starving and killing innocent children and women in Gaza shows reluctance of Europe to act neutrally. In a comparative case, Europe has played a very active role in supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia, such as putting sanctions on Russia and increasing refugee assistance to Ukraine. The visit of Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission President, in solidarity with Israel after October 07 attack, while not mentioning anything about Palestinians, exemplifies the double standards of Europe. There are states in Europe that now are planning to recognize the State of Palestine in upcoming session of United Nations General Assembly, in September. A declaration named “New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine” has also been led by France, which proposes to reunify Gaza and the West Bank under Palestinian Authority. All these efforts are much appreciable yet less effective in order to put immediate halt to the current crisis in Gaza. The reason for this is that Israel does not take in care any resolution of General Assembly or even the laws of war, and the West has also provided Israel with significant support in its outlawed activities.

The actions of European governments, too, are much inferior in contrast with public opinion and protests taking place in great number across the whole continent. European states have applied rather counter-protest policies by trying to suppress and shape the public opinion. Since October 07 2023, the suffering of Palestinians has been echoing in public but not in parliaments, which has only made it less easy for governments to justify their policies. The public support for Israel has also decreased significantly in recent years as recorded by YouGov, reported by the Guardian. This shows how far have gone the differences between actual demands of people and the conducts of their governments.

Arms trade and economic ties between Europe and Israel have also surged since October 2023, such as Germany which increased its arms export to Israel. Israel uses these arms to intensify its atrocities on Palestinians in Gaza, making the crises eviler. This case is very interesting because when Europe is doing all its trade activities with Israel, somehow it is unable to effectively stop the genocidal actions of Israel. There has been an agreement regarding the slow resumption of aid to Gaza between Europe and Israel, but the practical implications of this agreement remain invisible as the Israel-caused-famine continues in Gaza. An ironic thing in this whole picture is that when these people under oppression reach to receive the smallest amount of aid, they are gifted with Israeli bullets and bombing. It becomes very difficult for one to think that what is it that has come from Europe, the food or the bullets?

The crisis in Gaza continues to worsen day by day and it is becoming hard to use appropriate vocabulary in order to clearly state the condition. The role played by Europe in this situation could have been much better and that would have made the whole situation in Gaza much different, in a better way. European states are now getting in line to recognize Palestine, but at the same time continue to make deals with Israel. A few days ago, former EU ambassadors wrote a letter in which they urged the bloc to end arms export, sanction Israel, and act to stop crimes it has been committing in Gaza. It is yet to be seen what appropriate actions Europe will take, and if there would be an end to the humanitarian crises unfolding in Gaza.