EU proposes halting Israel access to start-up funds over Gaza war
The move by Brussels comes as a string of EU countries push for concrete steps against Israel in the face of growing fears of mass starvation in the war-ravaged territory.
"While Israel has announced a daily humanitarian pause in Gaza fighting ... the situation remains severe," the European Commission said in a statement.
"The proposed suspension is a targeted and reversible action," it said.
The suggestion to partially suspend Israel's involvement in the mammoth Horizon research programme will be discussed by the EU's 27 countries on Tuesday.
It would need the approval of the majority of member states to go into force.
The bloc has struggled to take action over the conflict in Gaza as it is split between staunch supporters of Israel and those more favorable to the Palestinians.
The EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, this month put forward a raft of options to punish Israel after it was found guilty of breaching a cooperation deal with the EU on human rights grounds.
Brussels also said it had struck a deal with Israel to increase aid access to Gaza.
While the EU says Israel has taken steps to implement some of the promises on stepping up aid, it still has to do much more.
Partially suspending Horizon access is one of the more limited moves that Brussels could take.
But diplomats and officials say the move is a first step to signal to Israel that the bloc is willing to take action unless the situation in Gaza improves.
Brussels said the proposal would mean halting access to funding for Israeli start-ups involved in fields including drone technology, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.
In 2024, Israel ranked among the top three countries in terms of the number of companies vying for funding, alongside Germany and France.
With Gaza's population of more than two million facing famine and malnutrition, Israel bowed to international pressure at the weekend and announced a daily "tactical pause" in fighting in some areas.
Truckloads of food reached hungry Gazans on Monday after Israel promised to open secure aid routes, but humanitarian agencies warned vast amounts more were needed to stave off starvation.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Nahar Net
an hour ago
- Nahar Net
Israeli army brags about 'achievements' against Hezbollah during and after war
by Naharnet Newsdesk 30 July 2025, 15:34 The Israeli army has published stats about its attacks in Lebanon since the end of its September-November war against Hezbollah and the entry into force of the ceasefire agreement. The Israeli army said it killed more than 234 Hezbollah operatives and destroyed 'approximately 90 rocket launchers, approximately 20 command posts, and approximately 40 (Hezbollah) infrastructure sites, in addition to five weapons production sites and three Radwan Force training camps.' Israel's military added that it also carried out 'hundreds' of ground operations inside Lebanon to destroy weapons and Hezbollah infrastructure. It added that during the all-out war, it killed 'approximately 4,000 to 5,000 Hezbollah commanders and operatives, in addition to removing approximately 9,000 operatives from the combat zone.' The Israeli army also claimed that it destroyed 70-80% of Hezbollah's short-range rocket launchpads. 'In addition, during the operation, the IDF (Israeli army) exposed and destroyed approximately 1,500 underground infrastructure sites along the border line and destroyed all attack tunnels,' it said. Israeli military officials meanwhile said that the army assesses that its achievements against Hezbollah since the November ceasefire could potentially bring the Lebanese group to 'complete disarmament,' Israeli media reports said. 'We are pushing away every threat and eliminating anyone who tries to threaten and approach the border area,' outgoing IDF Northern Command chief Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin told reporters at an Israeli army post in south Lebanon. 'We are constantly on forward defense and continue to strengthen and fortify it, so that the forces here can carry out strong and significant defense against Hezbollah,' Gordin said. 'Hezbollah is far from us, and we strike it at every opportunity,' he added. The Israeli army meanwhile said it has filed 'some 1,280 complaints to the (ceasefire) committee as of Monday, including 670 that the Lebanese Armed Forces were asked to enforce and 530 after the IDF (Israeli army) carried out airstrikes against the alleged violations.' Of the 670 complaints the LAF was requested to enforce, it dealt with 456. Another 80 were 'enforced' by the Israeli army with airstrikes, and 18 violations were closed for 'being irrelevant,' the Israeli army added. Israeli military officials have said that the Lebanese Army has been improving with its activities to dismantle Hezbollah, but is still not working as fast as they would like to see. Still, Hezbollah is considered by the Israeli army to have been 'heavily degraded,' mostly as a result of the two months of open warfare between September and November. But Isralei military officials said that 25-30 percent of the Israeli army's achievements against Hezbollah 'have actually been achieved since the ceasefire, in the strikes aimed at preventing the group from regrouping and rearming.' Most of Hezbollah's weapons are located in areas north of the Litani River, according to Israeli army assessments, after it destroyed the group's infrastructure in the border villages. There have been limited attempts to restore capabilities in the border villages, to which displaced Lebanese civilians have not yet returned, according to the Israeli military. Israeli military officials also claimed that Hezbollah Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem received several 'requests' -- not 'orders' -- from Iran to join the war against Israel in June but declined. The Israeli military also said that it assesses that Hezbollah senses low confidence inside the group in acting against Israel at this time, and is more focused on trying to restore its capabilities, an effort that could be harmed further should it attack Israel. Speaking to reporters at the army post in Lebanon, Gordin said, 'I believe it would be very wise and beneficial for the state of Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah. The greatest damage Lebanon has suffered was because of Hezbollah, and it would be best if it no longer existed.' 'We will stay here for as long as needed and will provide strong and significant defense for the residents of the north,' Gordin said. Israeli officials have previously said that the Israeli army would only withdraw from the five points in Lebanon if Hezbollah disarms. As of Tuesday, 74% of Israelis displaced from north Israel have returned to their homes. In some settlements like Metula and Manara, very few residents have returned. 'I believe the security situation on the northern border is very good. The threats are very far away, and there are no immediate threats to the border area, the communities, or the residents. I think it's been decades since we've had a security situation as good as the one we have today,' Gordin added.
Nahar Net
an hour ago
- Nahar Net
Gaza famine warning as Israel resists ceasefire calls
by Naharnet Newsdesk 30 July 2025, 13:06 Gaza is slipping into famine, U.N. agencies warned on Tuesday, as the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said the Palestinian death toll in the nearly 22-month war had topped 60,000. The World Food Program, UNICEF and the Food and Agriculture Organization warned that time was running out and that Gaza was "on the brink of a full-scale famine." "We need to flood Gaza with large-scale food aid, immediately and without obstruction, and keep it flowing each and every day to prevent mass starvation," WFP executive director Cindy McCain said in a joint statement from the agencies. This week, Israel launched daily pauses in its military operations in some parts of Gaza and opened secure routes to enable U.N. agencies and other aid groups to distribute food in the densely populated territory of more than two million. However, Israeli strikes continued overnight, killing 30 people in the Nuseirat refugee camp, according to Gaza's civil defense agency -- and experts warned a humanitarian catastrophe of historic proportions is imminent. "The worst-case scenario of famine is now unfolding in the Gaza Strip," said the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative (IPC), a group of monitors who advise the United Nations on impending crises. The IPC stopped short of declaring a state of famine, but made clear the situation is critical. - Urgent action now - Britain, France and Germany could send their foreign ministers to Israel next week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said, adding: "We assume that the Israeli government is willing to acknowledge that something must be done now." In a statement released ahead of the IPC report, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office accused Hamas of distorting casualty figures and of looting food intended for civilians. "While the situation in Gaza is difficult and Israel has been working to ensure aid delivery, Hamas benefits from attempting to fuel the perception of a humanitarian crisis," his office said. "We already allow significant amounts of humanitarian aid into Gaza every single day, including food, water and medicine. Unfortunately, Hamas... has been stealing aid from the Gaza population, many times by shooting Palestinians." Israel's international isolation increased Tuesday, when Britain joined France in proposing to recognize a Palestinian state as early as September. "I have always said that we will recognize a Palestinian state as a contribution to a proper peace process at the moment of maximum impact for the two-state solution," Prime Minister Keir Starmer said. "With that solution now under threat, this is the moment to act." Israel's reaction was much like its response to a similar announcement last week by French President Emmanuel Macron. It "constitutes a reward for Hamas and harms efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza", the foreign ministry said. Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza on March 2 after ceasefire talks broke down. In late May, it began allowing a small trickle of aid to resume, amid warnings of a wave of starvation. Then on Sunday, faced with mounting international criticism, Israel began a series of "tactical pauses" while allowing aid trucks to pass through two border crossings into Gaza, and Jordanian and Emirati planes to conduct airdrops. Deliveries have been ramped up, but the IPC said this effort would not prove enough unless aid agencies were granted "immediate, unimpeded" humanitarian access. "Failure to act now will result in widespread death in much of the Strip," it said, adding that 16 children under the age of five had died of hunger since July 17. According to Netanyahu's office, the pause in military operations covers "key populated areas" between 10:00 am (0700 GMT) and 8:00 pm every day. Designated aid convoy routes will be secure from 6:00 am to 11:00 pm. COGAT, an Israeli defense ministry body in charge of civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, said more than 200 truckloads of aid were distributed on Monday. - Air strikes - Another 260 trucks were permitted to cross into Gaza to deposit aid at collection points, four U.N. tankers brought in fuel and 20 pallets of aid were airdropped from Jordanian and Emirati planes, COGAT said. Gaza's civil defense agency said that Israeli air strikes killed at least 30 Palestinians, including women and children, in the central Nuseirat district. The Israeli military said it had "struck several terror targets in the central Gaza Strip", but that the number of reported casualties "does not align with the information held by the (military)". The Hamas-run territory's health ministry said Israel's campaign had now killed 60,034 people, most of them civilians. The war was sparked by Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, the majority civilians, based on an AFP tally of official figures.
Nahar Net
an hour ago
- Nahar Net
Berri lauds Aoun's approach in negotiations with US, arms file
by Naharnet Newsdesk 30 July 2025, 13:53 Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has slammed 'some in the country who deliberately launching a scare campaign about an all-out war on Lebanon.' 'Regardless of the nature of Israeli intentions … this is deplorable and contradicts with the spirit of national responsibility,' Berri told al-Joumhouria newspaper. Lauding President Joseph Aoun's approach in dealing with the negotiations with the U.S. and the Hezbollah arms file, Berri said 'the approach he is adopting in dealing with this file is good.' Asked about the reports claiming the presence of disputes between him and Hezbollah, a smiling Berri said: 'Neither I nor Hezbollah know of this. Let them blabber.' As for U.S. envoy Tom Barrack's warning that 'as long as Hezbollah retains arms, words will not suffice,' Berri said Barrack's remarks are 'addressed to the government.' 'For my part, I'm concerned with continuing to seek solutions,' Berri added.
