“We’re trucking clean water, we’re giving them basic food, very basic healthcare, but nothing has been fixed in terms of improving the lives of Palestinians who’ve been suffering for so long and are still living in tents after three years.”

Israel has continued bombing the Gaza Strip almost daily. On 246 out of the 273 days of the ceasefire (data up to 9 July), Israeli forces have launched attacks which have killed over 1,092 people and injured 3,507. According to a United Nations investigation published last month, Israel continues “the deliberate targeting and killing of Palestinian children, including in the post-ceasefire” period.

The Palestine Donor Group (PDG) is an international group led by the EU Commission and founded in 2025, which includes prime minister Mohammad Mustafa of the Palestinian Authority (partially governing over the West Bank), Donald Trump's Board of Peace, and over 60 additional partners. On Monday, it pledged €883.6 million in financial contributions to the early recovery of Gaza.

Water, waste, and warmth

These funds tackle the most immediate humanitarian problems. According to the European Commission, they contribute to “the restoration of basic services for the population; this would include water and sanitation infrastructure, debris and solid waste management and removal, and restoring health, energy, agriculture, and food systems.”

Over 50% of the water supplied to Gaza is lost in leakages, while around 82% of households suffer from water insecurity. Meanwhile, access to basic health equipment and shelter is massively restricted, as Israel still blocks substantial humanitarian aid.

Recently, the most pressing humanitarian issue has become solid waste. UNICEF Palestine envoy Veitch, based in East Jerusalem, recently returned from a mission to Gaza. “You have these enormous piles, both in Gaza City and in Deir al-Balah, about 10 of them, and they’re huge. You’ve got medical waste mixed with food, mixed with junk, mixed with old vehicles that blew up, mixed with some unexploded ordnance,” Veitch continued.

The recent heatwave that swept through much of Europe also impacted Gaza, worsening the situation and increasing exposure to diseases, often spread by a growing presence of rodents. Overall, the war has shrunk life expectancy in Gaza from 75 to 40 years, and set human development back by 77 years, according to the EU and UN.

The risk of Israeli intervention

By the EU’s own estimate, over USD 71 billion (about €62 billion) is needed for a full recovery – granted any progress isn't bombed right back to rubble. Given that the attacks have barely stopped, even the €883.6 million the PDG agreed on look at risk.

According to a recent EUObserver investigation, EU-funded projects worth €150 million have been destroyed by Israeli forces in Gaza. The real figure is likely much higher, especially if bilateral development projects are included. Since 2020, the EU has reportedly requested compensation from Israel more than 12 times.

Any new initiatives risk the same fate. In other words: European taxpayers' money sent to Gaza to save lives and rebuild could end up entirely extinguished, again, by Israeli attacks.

Asked for a comment on this risk, a European Commission spokesperson pointed to a recent visit by Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica. “During her visit, she agreed with Israel to move forward on two first important early recovery projects, in the areas of water and sanitation and solid waste management,” they told us. “We keep working with all international and regional partners on the next steps.”

Veitch believes that despite the risk, humanitarian work must continue. “How do you know it won't be destroyed again? The answer is, you don't. But it's something that you have to do because it's the right thing to do for the people. The humanitarian crisis needs to be dealt with separately to the political crisis. Even if it's only a drop in the ocean in terms of what the actual destruction requires.”

For Tamam Abusalama, campaign strategist for the European Left Alliance, separating the crises doesn't work. “To ensure EU funds are not wasted and to sustainably improve the political, economic, and humanitarian situation in Palestine, the EU and its member states must use all available tools to end all forms of cooperation with Israel,” she told us.

The European Left Alliance party launched a European Citizens Initiative demanding a suspension of the EU trade agreement with Israel, given its breaches of the agreement's human rights clause. The campaign ended yesterday (15 July), having received 1,228,012 signatures. After signatures are verified, the EU Commission will have six months to issue a response, justifying any action or inaction.

Just two days prior to the petition's deadline, the EU's Foreign Affairs Council had failed to come to an agreement over a possible suspension of the trade agreement and trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. On the same day, Israel approved new settlement construction worth USD 2.3 billion and projected to build 12,000 new homes.

Abusalama explained that humanitarian assistance alone won't be enough. “Palestinians are not asking for more EU funding. They are demanding that the EU uphold its legal obligations and hold those responsible for their conditions to account.”

Last week, the Hamas government dissolved in Gaza, paving the way for a technocratic Palestinian administration to take over. Israel continues blocking the handover while increasing its territorial control over the Strip, delaying Gaza's reconstruction further.