This Tuesday (May 20), EU Foreign Affairs High Representative Kaja Kallas announced that the EU would reconsider its trade relationship with Israel. While expectations for a significant breakthrough are low, this announcement is viewed as a "small but significant" decision, marking the EU's first formal response to calls for a tougher stance on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Since early May, Israel has launched military operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah and surrounding areas, severely restricting humanitarian aid access. This has prompted multiple EU member states to pressure Brussels to send a strong signal to Israel. Kallas stated that the European Commission would re-evaluate the EU-Israel Association Agreement, a free trade agreement regulating political and economic relations between the two. She welcomed Israel's allowance of some humanitarian aid into Gaza after an 11-week blockade, but noted that this is "just a drop in the ocean," given the catastrophic situation in Gaza.

The Israeli Foreign Minister rejected Kallas's criticism, declaring on social media that they completely reject the stance expressed in her statement, which reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the complex reality faced by Israel. Reportedly, ten EU member states have not supported this review decision.

The United Nations has stated that approximately 100 trucks of aid have been permitted to enter Gaza, marking a slow recovery of humanitarian aid, although the UN previously indicated that Gaza needs at least 500 trucks of humanitarian and commercial goods daily to meet basic needs. Kallas emphasized that this assistance must reach the people in need.

Before the Foreign Ministers’ meeting, leaders of France, the UK, and Canada issued a rare joint statement condemning Israel's new military actions in Gaza and deeming the restrictions on humanitarian aid as "severely disproportionate." They warned that if humanitarian corridors could not be restored, they would take "further concrete actions," although no specific measures were outlined. Hugh Lovatt, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, pointed out that Israel has enjoyed an exceptional treatment within the EU, evading the full constraints of international law.