European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has stepped into the international spotlight with a bold set of proposals aimed at Israel, as the war in Gaza continues to reverberate across the Middle East and beyond. On September 11, 2025, von der Leyen announced that she would seek sweeping European Union sanctions and a partial trade suspension against Israel. Her move, which includes freezing bilateral support from the EU’s executive branch, comes amid a surge of violence and diplomatic tension throughout the region.
According to the Associated Press, von der Leyen told EU lawmakers, “We will put our bilateral support to Israel on hold. We will stop all payments in these areas, without affecting our work with Israeli civil society or Yad Vashem.” She also revealed plans to establish a Palestine donor group in October, which will focus in part on Gaza’s future reconstruction. Her remarks drew applause in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, where she added, “Man-made famine can never be a weapon of war. For the sake of the children, for the sake of humanity. This must stop.”
The EU’s stance, however, is anything but unified. The 27-nation bloc remains deeply divided on its approach to Israel and the Palestinians, and it remains unclear whether a majority will back von der Leyen’s proposed sanctions and trade restrictions. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar was quick to respond, accusing von der Leyen of yielding to pressure that “undermines Israel-Europe relations” and warning that her actions would only embolden Hamas.
Meanwhile, the region has been rocked by escalating violence. On September 11, Israel launched heavy airstrikes in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and surrounding areas, targeting Houthi rebel positions. The Houthi-run Health Ministry reported that at least 35 people were killed and more than 130 were wounded, with first responders still searching the rubble and warning that the toll could rise. Israel confirmed the strikes, stating that they were in response to earlier Houthi drone and missile attacks, including one that struck an Israeli airport. The Houthis, backed by Iran, claim their operations are in support of Hamas and the Palestinians in Gaza.
Violence also erupted in Qatar, where Israeli airstrikes on September 10 targeted Hamas’ political leadership as they gathered in Doha to consider a U.S. ceasefire proposal. According to BBC reporting, the strike killed five lower-ranking Hamas members and a Qatari security officer. Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, condemned the attack, saying, “Such hostile behavior reflects only the barbarism of Netanyahu,” and accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “pushing the region toward irreparable instability, undermining international laws and frameworks.”
The attack on Qatari soil sent shockwaves through the region, prompting the United Arab Emirates’ leader, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to visit Qatar the next day—a move widely interpreted as a sign of rising unease among Gulf states. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, a 57-nation body, condemned Israel’s attack in Qatar as a “dangerous escalation threatening the security and stability of the region and undermining international security and peace.”
Analysts have warned that Israel’s strike in Qatar could have far-reaching diplomatic consequences. The Soufan Center, a New York-based think tank, noted, “The attack has profound strategic implications because by striking a Gulf Cooperation Council state, Israel risks undermining the Abraham Accords and unraveling the fragile normalization framework with Arab partners.” The think tank posed a sobering question: “If a state like Qatar, with its carefully cultivated neutrality and commitment to peacemaking, is punished for its role, who will dare step into the vacuum of mediation in the future?”
Israel’s leadership, for its part, has shown no signs of backing down. Prime Minister Netanyahu warned on September 11, “To Qatar and all nations who harbor terrorists, you either expel them or you bring them to justice. Because if you don’t, we will.” Israeli officials insisted that the strike in Doha was not intended to target the Qatari state but rather “to strike Hamas terrorists and those responsible for the massacres of October 7,” according to Israel’s U.N. ambassador Danny Danon.
The situation in Gaza remains dire. The U.N. humanitarian office reported that more than 10,000 Palestinians moved from northern Gaza to the south between September 9 and 11, following Israeli evacuation orders. U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric described a desperate scene: “People are using any means possible to move. As some families flee, many others are unable to do so because of health and safety concerns or high cost of transportation.” U.N. agencies and hundreds of aid organizations warned that Israel’s evacuation order has left nearly one million people “with no safe or viable options.”
The Gaza health ministry reported on September 11 that hospitals received the bodies of 41 people killed by Israeli strikes in the previous 24 hours, along with 184 wounded. An additional 12 people were killed while seeking humanitarian aid. The ministry also said that five Palestinians, including a child, died from malnutrition-related causes in the past day, bringing the total such deaths since August 22 to 404, including 141 children. These grim statistics underscore the growing humanitarian crisis in the enclave, where even basic survival has become a daily struggle.
Elsewhere, the conflict’s ripple effects are being felt in unexpected places. An international activist flotilla, the Global Sumud Flotilla, which set sail from Barcelona to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza, reported being attacked by drones in Tunisian waters for the second consecutive night on September 11. The group blamed Israel for the attack, sharing footage of flames striking the deck of the British-flagged “Alma” vessel. No injuries were reported, but the incident highlighted the far-reaching nature of the conflict.
In a rare moment of good news, Princeton University graduate student Elizabeth Tsurkov was released from captivity in Iraq and returned to Israel on September 10 after being held hostage for two and a half years. Tsurkov, who holds Israeli and Russian citizenship, was kidnapped in Iraq in 2023 while conducting doctoral research. Her release was announced by both U.S. and Israeli leaders, bringing a glimmer of relief amid the ongoing turmoil.
As the international community grapples with the rapidly evolving crisis, von der Leyen’s call for sanctions and a partial trade suspension against Israel marks a significant shift in the EU’s approach. Whether her proposals will gain traction among the bloc’s member states remains to be seen, but the move has already added another layer of complexity to a conflict that shows no signs of abating. With diplomatic ties fraying, humanitarian needs mounting, and regional tensions flaring, the coming weeks promise to be pivotal for the future of the Middle East—and for the global response to the war in Gaza.
