Hello and welcome to the latest episode of Unpacking Europe, the Centre for European

Reforms podcast. My name is Thomas Maddoch, and I'm the C.R.'s Clara Marina O'Donnell Fellow for

2025 to 26. And in today's episode, we're going to be discussing how Europe is responding to two conflicts

happening on its doorstep, Israel's war in Lebanon, and the continuing humanitarian crisis

and Israeli violence in Palestine. The past few months, and especially since the start of the

U.S. and Israeli war in Iran, have further destabilized the region and have unleashed new waves

of violence. In Gaza, though a fragile thief fire remains

between Hamas and Israel, it's hard to describe the situation as being at peace. Repeated Israeli

strikes on Gaza continue, and according to Mitzin-Sense-Francierge, vital humanitarian assistance

remains blocked by Israeli authorities. Hamas disarmament talks have stalled, throwing into doubt

the stability of the peace

process. Meanwhile, Israel's violence in the West Bank has also escalated quite dramatically,

with Israel's illegal settlement campaign proliferating. Israel's occupation has been described

as a de facto annexation. Then what about in Lebanon? As of early May 2025, Al Jazeera has

reported that at least 2,700,

Lebanese people have been killed in Israeli attacks and over one million displaced,

representing about one in five people in Lebanon. A ceasefire deal between Lebanon and Israel

was announced by US President Donald Trump in April, but again, there are little signs that

this has actually stopped the fighting. Which brings me to today's topic, what is the EU doing in response to all of this?

The EU has pushed for a cessation of hostilities and for humanitarian aid to flow in,

but there have been cause for a more robust EU response to all of this.

Almost 450 former European officials signed a statement urging further action against Israel,

...