Right now, as you read this, European-made weapons are being used in Gaza. Weapons to a military that shoots at civilians desperately waiting for food. Weapons that kill children. Weapons that starve entire populations. Why are we allowing this?
Germany alone has been Israel’s second-largest arms supplier, providing 30% of Israel’s major arms imports between 2019 and 2023, worth €326.5 million in 2023 alone. Italy ranks third globally. European hands are building European weapons on European soil, only for them to be used to kill civilians. The International Court of Justice has ordered Israel to “immediately halt its military offensive” and take steps to prevent genocidal acts. The UN General Assembly has demanded an end to Israel’s unlawful presence in Palestinian territories. Yet European weapons continue to flow.
The human cost is staggering. Since October 2023, more than 50,000 children have reportedly been killed or injured in Gaza. Israel kills a child every 45 minutes — an average of 30 children every single day. Nearly 70% of verified deaths are women and children. To put this in perspective: at least 825 babies never lived to celebrate their first birthday, and thousands more preschoolers died before even starting school. Conservative figures confirm more women and children were killed in Gaza over the last year than in any other recent conflict in a single year. In just two and a half months, more children were killed there than in all global conflicts over the previous three years combined.
The assault on truth has been just as brutal. Israel’s war on Gaza has killed 232 journalists, making it the deadliest conflict for media workers ever recorded. The International Federation of Journalists has evidence suggesting deliberate targeting, with cases now before the International Criminal Court. More journalists have been killed in Gaza than in both world wars, the Vietnam War, and the Afghanistan conflict combined. Silencing the press means silencing accountability itself.
International law is clear. Article 1 of the Geneva Conventions requires all states to “ensure respect” for humanitarian law. The EU’s own Common Position on Arms Exports prohibits transfers when weapons would likely be used to commit war crimes. The evidence is overwhelming — and the legal obligation undeniable. So we must ask: is Europe still based on the rule of law? Still defined by accountability? Still the inspiring force for human rights?
This stops when we make it stop. Contact your MEPs to demand suspension of arms exports. Pressure companies profiting from this trade. Use your voice, your vote, and your influence.
When hospitals are bombed, when aid workers are killed, when children are slaughtered every 45 minutes, and when international courts are ignored — that’s when you stop sending weapons. Human decency demands it. We can remain complicit in war crimes, or we can stand on the right side of history.
I know which side I’m on.
Dear reader,
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