JOINT MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Gaza at breaking point: EU action to combat famine, the urgent need to release hostages and move towards a two-state solution
10.9.2025 - (2025/2852(RSP))
replacing the following motions:
B10‑0372/2025 (S&D)
B10‑0373/2025 (Verts/ALE)
B10‑0374/2025 (Renew)
Iratxe García Pérez, Yannis Maniatis, Nacho Sánchez Amor, Evin Incir, Marta Temido
on behalf of the S&D Group
Hilde Vautmans, Abir Al‑Sahlani, Barry Andrews, Veronika Cifrová Ostrihoňová, Raquel García Hermida‑Van Der Walle, Gerben‑Jan Gerbrandy, Bernard Guetta, Ľubica Karvašová, Ilhan Kyuchyuk, Nathalie Loiseau, Brigitte van den Berg, Vlad Vasile‑Voiculescu, Emma Wiesner, Lucia Yar
on behalf of the Renew Group
Villy Søvndal
on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group
European Parliament resolution on Gaza at breaking point: EU action to combat famine, the urgent need to release hostages and move towards a two-state solution
The European Parliament,
– having regard to Rules 136(2) and (4) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is marked by a decades-long record of occupation, recurrent disregard of international law and UN resolutions, and repeated cycles of violence and terrorist attacks;
B. whereas Hamas committed a despicable attack on 7 October 2023, in which 1 200 people were killed and 250 were taken hostage; whereas an estimated 48 hostages remain in captivity in Gaza, around 20 of whom are believed to still be alive;
C. whereas in response to Hamas’s attack, Israel launched the military operation ‘Swords of Iron’, with the stated goal of liberating the Israeli hostages held in Gaza and dismantling Hamas’s military capabilities; whereas on 4 May 2025, Israel’s Security Cabinet approved a military plan with the code name ‘Operation Gideon’s Chariots’ that aimed to ‘capture the entire Gaza Strip’ and seize control of the territory;
D. whereas since the beginning of the disproportionate military response by the Israeli Government in Gaza, more than 63 000 Palestinians have been killed, of whom more than 17 000 were children according to UNICEF, and more than 15 000 Palestinians have been injured;
E. whereas the humanitarian situation in Gaza is unbearable, with the civilian population in the Gaza Strip now entirely dependent on humanitarian aid; whereas humanitarian aid should never be instrumentalised and should reach civilians in need without obstruction or manipulation, in full compliance with international humanitarian law;
F. whereas continued diplomatic outreach by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR) to her Israeli counterpart led to an agreement on humanitarian arrangements to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza;
G. whereas monitoring of the humanitarian arrangements reveals that some progress has been made, including increased access for trucks and fuel, the opening of additional crossing points, the continued operation of the Egyptian and Jordanian routes, and repairs to critical infrastructure; whereas these measures remain insufficient to address the vast humanitarian needs of Gaza’s population;
H. whereas there is an ongoing case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v Israel), brought on 29 December 2023;
1. Expresses great alarm at the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, notably the lack of food and widespread malnutrition resulting from insufficient access to humanitarian aid; reiterates that distribution sites, civilians, humanitarian workers and medical staff must be protected and must not become targets of military action; underlines the urgent need for all experienced international humanitarian bodies to have full, rapid, safe and unhindered access to and throughout the entire Gaza Strip, with an emphasis on providing essentials such as food, water, medical supplies and shelter, in line with international law, and demands the immediate restoration of vital infrastructure; emphasises the obligations of the parties to the conflict, under international humanitarian law, regarding the provision of humanitarian assistance;
2. Strongly condemns the obstruction of humanitarian aid to Gaza by the Israeli Government, which has caused a man-made famine in northern Gaza; is particularly alarmed by the report issued by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), backed by the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Food Programme and UNICEF, issuing a critical alert on famine;
3. Demands the unimpeded and large-scale provision of humanitarian assistance, particularly food, medical care and psychosocial support for children, and protection to all those in need throughout the Gaza Strip; calls for the opening of all relevant border crossings, and for the mandate and funding of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to be reinstated in full, with strong oversight and accountability; strongly opposes the current aid distribution system in Gaza;
4. Calls for stronger efforts by all parties to guarantee that aid reaches all civilians safely;
5. Calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire; calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all Israeli hostages being held in Gaza, both living and deceased; calls for the International Committee of the Red Cross to be given immediate access to all Israeli hostages being held in Gaza so that it can provide them with medical care; calls for the EU institutions and the Member States to use their diplomatic leverage in respect of third countries to apply pressure on Hamas to accept the release of all hostages;
6. Condemns once again, in the strongest possible terms, the barbaric crimes perpetrated by Hamas against Israel; calls for the EU to adopt further firm and concrete sanctions against the terrorist organisation Hamas;
7. Reiterates its commitment to Israel’s security and reaffirms Israel’s inalienable right to invoke self-defence in full compliance with international law, and recognises that Israel remains a strategic EU partner in countering regional terrorism, including threats from the Islamic Republic of Iran and its proxies;
8. Condemns the continuous attacks on Israel by Houthi rebels, Hezbollah and Iran; stresses that the Iranian regime continues to constitute a threat to Israel’s security, while Israel retains the right to adopt all measures it deems necessary to counter and diminish Iranian aggression and interference;
9. Stresses that Israel’s right to defend itself cannot justify indiscriminate military action in Gaza and in the region; strongly condemns the continuous escalation of war in Gaza caused by the Israeli military operations, which has led to devastating humanitarian consequences and unacceptable suffering for the civilian population, particularly children, who are bearing the brunt of this war; equally condemns Hamas’s deliberate abuse of civilian infrastructure and its use of the population as human shields; calls for the application of the updated EU Guidelines on Children and Armed Conflict as a framework for action, prioritising the rights, safety and well-being of children;
10. Condemns the repeated violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in Gaza, including mass forcible transfers, which are prohibited except when they are carried out to ensure civilian security or for imperative military reasons; calls on Israel to stop engaging in practices that cause disproportionate civilian harm, the destruction of infrastructure and forced displacement;
11. Supports the goal of fully defeating the terrorist organisation Hamas, to prevent this EU-designated terrorist organisation from posing a threat to Jewish and Israeli lives ever again; warns that Hamas’s political ideology prevents it from ever being a political partner; regrets Hamas’s public support for the deadly terrorist attack perpetrated in Jerusalem on 8 September 2025, which confirms that this terrorist group entirely lacks the legitimacy to participate in the future governance of the Gaza Strip;
12. Reaffirms that Hamas and other terrorist organisations cannot be allowed to retain any political or military control in the Gaza Strip;
13. Urges all Member States to comply with their obligations under the Rome Statute, to enforce all arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), and to reaffirm their political and financial support for the ICC and the ICJ; recalls that the ICJ’s binding orders must be implemented fully, including with regard to ensuring humanitarian access to Gaza; stresses that accountability for violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law is essential for any sustainable peace; calls on all parties to respect the independence of international judicial institutions; insists that all perpetrators of human rights violations must be held to account;
14. Expresses outrage at the killing of 248 journalists and 508 humanitarian workers, as well as the repeated attacks on hospitals and humanitarian convoys; demands independent investigations into the killings and calls for those responsible to be held to account;
15. Considers it essential to carry out a full investigation into alleged war crimes and violations of international law, and for the Israeli political and military authorities to be held to account;
16. Urges the Commission to activate the blocking statute to protect European operators from the effects of US sanctions and help ensure that the ICC’s work can continue unaffected, and urges the EU and its Member States to take any other diplomatic and practical steps necessary to defend the ICC and those cooperating with it, in line with the Member States’ legally binding commitments to promote the universality and integrity of the Rome Statute;
17. Supports the actions and campaigns advanced by civil society organisations and activists with the aim of promoting concrete efforts to end the man-made famine in Gaza and to stop the crimes being committed there;
18. Calls on the Commission to ensure that its proposed EUR 1.6 billion comprehensive support programme for the Palestinian Authority and Gaza is fully transparent and is subject to strict oversight and effective conditionality to ensure that EU taxpayer money does not support terrorism or incitement to hatred and violence;
19. Expresses its solidarity with the Christians in Gaza and the West Bank and underlines that they play an essential humanitarian and social role, despite being a tiny minority;
20. Strongly condemns the fact that the Commission and the European Council have so far failed to respond with the urgency that the gravity of the catastrophic situation in Gaza demands;
21. Invites the Commission and the European Council to reflect on the profound consequences for the EU’s global image of the absence of an objective response to the catastrophic situation in the Gaza Strip and the perception of a double standard in the EU’s diplomatic action; stresses that this situation is destroying the EU’s credibility not only in the eyes of the Global South but also in the eyes of our citizens;
22. Fully supports the current EU sanctions enacted against violent Israeli settlers and activists in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem; calls for the EU to follow the decisions of several Member States and the United Kingdom to issue sanctions against Israeli Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich and Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir; supports the extension of sanctions and calls for targeted EU restrictive measures, including asset freezes and visa bans through the EU’s Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime, to be applied to extremist individuals and entities directly involved in the unlawful occupation of the Palestinian Territories and in severe breaches of international law, including extremist ministers openly calling for genocidal actions or acting against the two-state solution;
23. Urges all Member States to align with the Council Common Position on controls of arms exports and to consistently apply the principles laid down therein; welcomes, in this regard, the recent calls by France and Germany to halt arms exports where there is a clear risk that the exported items will be used to commit war crimes or serious violations of international humanitarian law;
24. Recalls that the European External Action Service has concluded that the Israeli Government is in clear breach of its human rights obligations under Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement; regrets that the agreement remains in force and that no other measures have been introduced so far;
25. Supports the Commission President’s declaration that EU bilateral support to Israel will be put on hold and that all payments in these areas will stop, without affecting the EU’s work with Israeli civil society or Yad Vashem, and supports her proposal for a partial suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement with regard to trade-related matters;
26. Reiterates its commitment to a negotiated two-state solution on the basis of the 1967 borders, with two sovereign, democratic states living side by side in peace and guaranteed security, and with full respect for international law; insists that the concrete roadmap for implementing the two-state solution must be the central focus of the Commission’s Middle East strategy, which is planned for 2026;
27. Calls on the Member States, the VP/HR and the President of the European Council to take all possible diplomatic steps to ensure the EU’s commitment to a two-state solution, with concrete political progress towards its realisation, ahead of the UN General Assembly in September 2025 and in line with the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution of 4 August 2025;
28. Underlines that the total demilitarisation and exclusion of Hamas from any future form of governance in Gaza is a fundamental requirement for a durable and reliable future political and security architecture; calls for the full restoration of a reformed Palestinian Authority as the only governing force in Gaza;
29. Affirms that the establishment of a Palestinian State represents a key instrument for advancing peace and enhancing the security of the State of Israel; underscores that this is the most effective diplomatic pathway towards regional normalisation and the achievement of lasting peace;
30. Calls on the Member States to consider recognising the State of Palestine with a view to achieving the two-state solution; repeats, in this regard, the demands of this House that all hostages must be released immediately and that the terrorist organisation Hamas must have no role in the future of Gaza;
31. Condemns Israel’s retaliatory practices against Member States that have recognised the State of Palestine or announced their intention to do so, noting that these amount to unjustified diplomatic blackmail;
32. Reiterates that it fully supports the civilian missions that the EU is conducting under the common security and defence policy in the Occupied Palestinian Territories – the European Union Mission for the Support of Palestinian Police and Rule of Law (EUPOL COPPS) in Ramallah and the recently redeployed EU Border Assistance Mission to Rafah – as well as their action in assisting with the reform of the Palestinian Authority’s security and justice sector and integrated border management; recalls that these missions are in a good position to play a broader operational role, on behalf of the EU, in supporting the Palestinian Authority’s state-building and capacity-building efforts; encourages Israel and the Palestinian Authority to maintain full cooperation with both missions;
33. Condemns the policies of rapidly advancing Israeli settlements and the annexation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which are illegal under international law, and in particular the recent decision to move forward with a settlement plan in the E1 area of the occupied West Bank, which would effectively cut off the occupied West Bank from East Jerusalem and make a two-state solution impossible;
34. Calls for the EU to use its full leverage to prevent further obstacles to the two-state solution, in particular by stepping up measures against violent settlers in the West Bank and by ensuring that its approach to settlement products fully complies with the EU’s legal order and international obligations; calls, in particular, for current labelling rules for products from Israeli settlements to be enforced strictly and for participation in research programmes (e.g. Horizon Europe grants) to be frozen or withheld;
35. Expresses concern about the global spillover effects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with an increased number of attacks on Israeli citizens and Jews taking place in some Member States, amid an overall rise in antisemitism among specific groups;
36. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Government of Israel, the Palestinian Authority, the Secretary-General of the UN and the League of Arab States.