Severe aid bottlenecks and deadly daily violence means the war in Gaza is not over despite the ceasefire agreed in October, the EU's Crisis Commissioner Hadja Lahbib has told The National.
Pointing at the 400 people, including children, killed in recent months, she said the situation remains dangerous. On top of that, distribution of aid remains well below the agreed ceasefire levels and a fraction of what the EU has judged is needed.
“We keep talking about the implementation of phase two [of the ceasefire], but phase one hasn't been concluded,” Ms Lahbib said. “It clearly stipulates that at least 250 trucks of humanitarian aid must be able to enter Gaza and that is already under the 600 that we had requested.
“I think that, for those who want to return home, the war is not over. For those in Gaza waiting for humanitarian aid, the war is not over.”
A Belgian politician and former journalist, Ms Lahbib has been European Commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis management since December 2024.
On Gaza, Ms Lahbib has repeatedly expressed concern over the issue of potential black markets skewing the humanitarian process. She pointed to the double standards of items being allowed to enter Gaza when sold for profit but refused when brought in by aid organisations.
“What frustrates us is that we see the same goods enter in commercial trucks,” Ms Lahbib said. “So, selling them is OK, but not distributing them for free? I suppose the sellers have an interest in that too.”
Dire conditions
Though the EU's political leverage on conflicts in the Middle East has been limited by internal divisions, it remains the biggest donor of humanitarian aid for Palestinians.
Speaking as Israel approved the reopening of the Rafah border crossing linking Gaza to Egypt, Ms Lahbib said the EU was lobbying for a massive increase in aid deliveries to the war-torn enclave.
With the ceasefire, the threat of famine has become less urgent. Yet conditions on the ground remain dire, with at least eight deaths of children because of winter conditions recorded since October, groups on the ground have reported.
Increased foot traffic at the Rafah crossing may be a breakthrough, but security restrictions are still being used as a barrier by the Israelis. “Right now, we're at around 200 [aid lorries a day]. And a lot of items cannot enter because they are considered dual use,” Ms Habib added.
International organisations working in Gaza routinely complain about the lack of clarity about items that Israel rejects on the grounds that they can be used both for military and civilian purposes, including tents because they have metal bars or wheelchairs because of the wheels.
Maciej Popowski, Ms Lahbib's second in command, was recently in Israel, but neither he nor Ms Lahbib have been allowed to enter Gaza since the start of the war in late 2023.
In November, Ms Lahbib travelled to the Rafah border crossing so knows from experience its imminent reopening will only be for pedestrians, and not aid lorries. That is not enough, Ms Lahbib said, calling for all crossings to reopen.
“We know that this is a passage primarily for pedestrian traffic,” Ms Lahbib said. “We expect that those who want to leave will be easily allowed to depart, and less so those who want to return.”
Board of Peace
The EU has been watching with scepticism US President Donald Trump's plans for Gaza's future development and have reportedly been reconsidering their presence in a US military-led co-ordination centre for Gaza, saying it has failed to increase aid flows.
Europeans have also refused to join Mr Trump's Board of Peace, arguing that its ambitions are much larger than the initial proposal to only focus on Gaza. “I think the Board of Peace is still in its embryonic stage and has no impact on the ground,” Ms Lahbib said. She described as “dangerous” its governance system that would give Mr Trump a veto power over any decision decided by a majority of members.
Reports that the US is pushing to set up communities of Gazans who would be provided with basic services in exchange for submitting to biometric data collection would create a “dystopian” reality on the ground, Ms Lahbib added.
“We want to participate in all peace plans,” she said. “It is important that the European Union has a say in them, but at the same time what is being put in place is very worrying. We always say nothing for Ukraine without Ukrainians. It should also be nothing for Gaza without Gazans. And for now Palestinians are absent from the Board of Peace.”
Ms Lahbib also echoed worries about Israeli plans to ban dozens of international humanitarian organisations from operating in Gaza and the West Bank by early March if they fail to comply with new regulations that include sharing detailed information about Palestinian staff.
“I know that some NGOs are questioning themselves and some will hand over the list. And that's a serious situation,” she said. “This is ultimately at the expense of humanitarian principles that have been enshrined since the Geneva Conventions of the 1950s.”
