UK pauses trade talks and EU reviews relationship with Israel, as pressure grows on Netanyahu to halt Gaza siege

International pressure on Israel is mounting amid its renewed military operation in Gaza, while both the United Kingdom and the European Union have announced measures to distance themselves from the country. The European Union and the United Kingdom are taking steps, including suspending negotiations and imposing sanctions, to seek a change in the humanitarian situation.

The United Kingdom has halted trade negotiations with Israel and sanctioned West Bank settlers, while Britain's top diplomat criticized Israel's operation in Gaza as "morally unjustifiable" and "wholly disproportionate." Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) announced it will review its relationship with Israel, and the EU's foreign policy chief called the situation in Gaza "catastrophic."

The announcements come a day after the United Kingdom, France, and Canada threatened to take "concrete actions," including targeted sanctions, if Israel does not halt its new offensive and continue to block aid flows to Gaza. However, on Tuesday, Israeli military forces pledged to "expand" their operations in the enclave.

Since May 5, Israel has been carrying out a new offensive in Gaza, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that his country plans to "take control of all of Gaza." Hundreds of people have died, and an Israeli blockade means no aid has entered the enclave for 11 weeks until Monday, when five trucks were allowed in, a small fraction of the 500 trucks officials say are needed each day to sustain the population.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday called the humanitarian situation in Gaza "intolerable" and stressed that aid must enter the enclave "at a good pace."

"The current situation, where we're seeing bombings, including of children, and the possibility of famine, is simply intolerable," Starmer said, adding that "we are coordinating this with our allies."

Meanwhile, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong joined international calls for the "full and immediate resumption of aid to Gaza," according to a statement issued last Wednesday. "We condemn the abhorrent and outrageous comments by members of the Netanyahu administration regarding these people in crisis," Wong said.

"We have consistently opposed the expansion of Israel's military operations in Gaza, and we have been clear that the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza would violate international law."

Pope Leo XIV also urged Israel on Wednesday to allow aid into Gaza, describing the situation there as "increasingly worrying and painful" during the first general audience of his papacy.

"I renew my sincere appeal for the entry of worthy humanitarian aid and an end to the hostilities, whose heartbreaking price is being paid by children, the elderly, and the sick," the pontiff declared in St. Peter's Square.

'A new dark phase' in the Gaza conflict

Speaking to lawmakers on Tuesday, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy emphasized that the United Kingdom supported Israel's right to defend itself following the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, but said the conflict was "entering a new dark phase." "For 11 weeks, Israeli forces have blockaded Gaza, leaving the World Food Programme without any remaining supplies," he said.

"We are entering a new and grim phase of this conflict. The Netanyahu government plans to expel Gazans from their homes to a corner of the southern enclave and allow them a fraction of the aid they need."

Israel's ambassador to the United Kingdom, Tzipura Hotovely, was summoned due to the Israeli offensive in Gaza, as well as Israeli settler violence and Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, the British Foreign Office said in a statement.

Settlers are Jewish Israelis living in the Israeli-occupied territories, primarily in communities built by the Israeli government. Since the Hamas attack on October 7, settlers have accelerated their state-backed occupation of West Bank lands.

"Settlement approvals have accelerated while settler violence has increased," Lammy told lawmakers Tuesday, announcing new sanctions against three individuals and four entities involved in the settler movement, in addition to a round of sanctions from last fall. Lammy added: "We will continue to take action against those who commit horrendous human rights abuses."

The Israeli Foreign Ministry called the sanctions against the settlers "bewildering, unjustified, and particularly regrettable," adding that "external pressure will not deflect Israel from its path in the fight for its existence and security against enemies who seek its destruction."

"If, due to an anti-Israel obsession and domestic political considerations, the British government is willing to damage its own economy, that is its decision," he said of the UK's pause in trade talks.

Shortly after the UK's announcement, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced that the bloc would review its association agreement with Israel due to the humanitarian aid blockade in Gaza.

The EU-Israel Association Agreement covers several forms of cooperation between the two parties, including political dialogue, the free movement of goods, and scientific collaboration.

Article 2 of the document establishes that "relations between the parties shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles." A "large majority" of EU members voted in favor of a revision of Article 2 of the agreement with Israel, Kallas said. "We will begin this exercise," he said. "In the meantime, it is up to Israel to release humanitarian aid."

Israel sharply criticized Kallas's statement, claiming it demonstrates a "lack of understanding of the complex reality facing Israel." The Foreign Ministry accused the EU of "ignoring" a US-backed initiative to send aid to Gaza without it reaching Hamas, as well as Israel's decision to facilitate the entry of certain aid into the enclave. "We urge the EU to exert pressure where it should be exerted: on Hamas," the Israeli Foreign Ministry wrote in X.

Hundreds of thousands of people face hunger

In addition to the ongoing military offensive in Gaza, the Israeli aid blockade has left one in five people in the enclave facing hunger, while the entire territory is approaching famine, according to the United Nations.

Israel has claimed that the blockade, along with its new military campaign, seeks to pressure Hamas into releasing the hostages in the enclave. However, numerous international organizations have accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war.

The Israeli military announced Sunday that it would allow a basic supply of food into Gaza as it launched its new offensive in the enclave. Netanyahu also suggested Monday that Israel is allowing small amounts of food into the enclave to maintain the support of its international allies.

The Israeli prime minister stated that "even our closest allies in the world, American senators I know personally," had expressed support for Israel's war against Hamas, but that they "cannot accept images of mass starvation." "We are approaching a dangerous point that we do not want to reach," Netanyahu added.

The leader of the leftist Israel Democrats party, retired Israeli general Yair Golan, warned Tuesday that Israel is "on its way to becoming a pariah state" because of its actions in Gaza.

"A sensible country doesn't declare war on civilians, kill babies for fun, or seek to expel a population," he told Israeli public news channel Kan News. Netanyahu called Golan's statement "an outrageous incitement against our heroic soldiers and against the State of Israel."

On Tuesday, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir vowed that Israel will "expand the maneuver" and "occupy additional territories" in Gaza until Hamas is defeated.

"The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) operates at all times in accordance with its values, the law, and international law, unwaveringly ensuring the security of the State of Israel and its citizens. Any statement that casts doubt on the value of our actions and the morality of our fighters is unfounded," Zamir stated.

On Monday, five trucks carrying aid entered Gaza, according to the Israeli agency that approves aid shipments to the region, a figure that French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot called "totally insufficient." On Tuesday, Israel approved the UN's dispatch of "around 100" trucks to the enclave, according to Laerke. Laerke said he expected many, if not all, of the aid trucks to be able to cross to a point in Gaza on Tuesday.

"We need to send the supplies as soon as possible, ideally within the next 48 hours. We'll try to reach as many as possible in the coming days, and we're prioritizing baby food in the first convoys," he said.

COGAT, the Israeli agency that approves aid shipments to Gaza, reported that 93 UN trucks had crossed into Gaza by Tuesday afternoon. These trucks were transporting flour, baby food, and medicines to the enclave, according to UN Secretary-General's spokesman Stéphane Dujarric.

Although the aid is already in the enclave, it has not yet been distributed, Dujarric said. Israeli security forces have ordered the trucks to be unloaded and reloaded before allowing their delivery to the teams in Gaza, he explained.

"To be clear, although more supplies have arrived in Gaza, we have not been able to guarantee their arrival at our warehouses and delivery points," Dujarric said.