![Palestinians flee with their belongings to areas they consider safe after the Israeli army's intense attacks in Gaza Strip on May 16, 2025. [Mahmoud İssa - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/AA-20250516-37972309-37972293-PALESTINIANS_START_FLEEING_TO_SAFE_AREAS_AFTER_ISRAELI_ATTACKS.jpg?fit=920%2C613&ssl=1)
Seven European countries said Friday they would “not stay silent” in response to Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, Anadolu reports.
“We will not be silent in front of the man-made humanitarian catastrophe that is taking place before our eyes in Gaza. More than 50.000 men, women, and children have lost their lives,” Ireland, Iceland, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Malta, Spain and Norway said in a statement.
Warning that many more people could starve to death in the coming days because of the Israeli blockade on humanitarian aid to Gaza, they added: “We call upon the government of Israel to immediately reverse its current policy, refrain from further military operations and fully lift the blockade, ensuring safe, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian aid to be distributed throughout the Gaza Strip by international humanitarian actors and according to humanitarian principles.”
The countries condemned the escalation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem by Israel, including illegal settler violence, the expansion of illegal settlements and intensified Israeli military operations.
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“Forced displacement or the expulsion of the Palestinian people, by any means, is unacceptable and would constitute a breach of international law. We reject any such plans or attempts at demographic change. We must assume the responsibility to stop this devastation,” they underlined.
The Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, said that more than 250 Palestinians have been killed recently as Israel adopts a “scorched earth” policy in Gaza.
Hamas accused Israel of committing “horrific massacres” and launching relentless attacks across the besieged territory.
The Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 53,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
READ: Situation in Gaza remains ‘extremely volatile and unpredictable’: UN