After a night of intense bombardment, Israel has launched an expanded operation in Gaza. The military says it is targeting Hamas’ infrastructure and has once again warned civilians to flee south. But for many in famine-stricken Gaza, leaving is impossible: the roads are dangerous with ongoing military operations, and the south is already overcrowded.
And today, the UN Commission of Inquiry presented the results of its two-year investigation, officially calling Israel’s actions in Gaza genocide. But can the UN’s damning conclusion influence future action for Gaza?
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After a night of intense bombardment, Israel has launched an expanded operation in Gaza. The military says it is targeting Hamas’ infrastructure and has once again warned civilians to flee south. But for many in famine-stricken Gaza, leaving is impossible: the roads are dangerous with ongoing military operations, and the south is already overcrowded.
And today, the UN Commission of Inquiry presented the results of its two-year investigation, officially calling Israel’s actions in Gaza genocide. But can the UN’s damning conclusion influence future action for Gaza?
The situation in Gaza is deteriorating today with the ground offensive by Israel. Hospitals are overwhelmed. At Shifa, staff reported receiving dozens of bodies and nearly a hundred wounded after strikes hit residential buildings. The UN estimates over 220,000 people have fled the north in the past month, but that still leaves a million trapped in Gaza, under bombardment and with food supplies cut off.
The Integrated Food Security Classification has called the famine “entirely man-made.” The UN Commission of Inquiry presented today the findings of its investigations and named what is happening “genocide.” It says Israel has committed at least four of the five acts defined under the Genocide Convention: mass killings, serious harm, deliberate conditions of destruction, and even preventing births. Israel rejects the charge as “distorted and false,” and the International Court of Justice will now have to weigh the case using this report.
Inside Israel, anger is also rising. Families of hostages are camping outside Netanyahu’s residence, accusing him of sacrificing their loved ones for political survival. Still, Netanyahu insists the mission will continue “until Hamas is defeated.”
Now this is no longer a military campaign against Hamas, this is a turning point for Israel’s democracy. Netanyahu himself admitted Israel is becoming isolated, but instead of acknowledging Gaza, he blamed Muslim immigration in Europe, Chinese disinformation, and Qatari influence. He even warned Israelis to prepare for a future as a “Super Sparta” a militarised, semi-autarkic state, cut off from much of the world. If that was meant to inspire confidence, it hasn’t. Israeli commentators have called his remarks “reckless” and “madness.”
And Europe? For all the outrage, EU leaders have yet to respond in any meaningful or unified way. The European Commission has hardened its tone, they proposed pausing payments to Israel and sanctioning extremist ministers, but heads of state remain largely silent. Luxembourg is joining France and Belgium in their recognition of Palestine, but the rest of the bloc is dragging its feet. In the meantime, over sixty thousand Palestinians are dead.
What’s Next?
For now tanks are reportedly moving into Gaza. More airstrikes are expected. Negotiators, led by the US in Qatar, are racing to salvage even a temporary ceasefire, but as the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio admitted: the window is closing, and fast.
At the UN General Assembly later this month, we will see a wave of European recognition of Palestine. That could shift the diplomatic landscape, but it won’t change the fact that civilians in Gaza face an impossible choice, either to flee again into danger and risk their lives, or stay under bombardment and starvation and again risk their lives.
And the longer Europe’s leaders stay silent, the harder it becomes to claim any moral authority in this conflict. And the longer Netanyahu clings to his “Super Sparta” fantasy, the deeper Israel drifts into isolation, because what happens in Gaza will shape not only the fate of Palestinians, but also the future of Israel.
Evi Kiorri is a Brussels-based journalist, multimedia producer, and podcaster with deep experience in European affairs.
Evi Kiorri is a Brussels-based journalist, multimedia producer, and podcaster with deep experience in European affairs.