The human toll of Israel’s attacks on Lebanon was visible when Irish MEP Barry Andrews visited Beirut last month, meeting families who fled airstrikes and took shelter in makeshift schools under poor conditions.

He described dirty mattresses, infections, and rashes worsened by deep aid cuts.

Andrews, chair of the European Parliament’s development committee, visited Lebanon two weeks after Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel, prompting massive Israeli retaliatory strikes.

On returning, he called for the EU to revive sanctions against Israel and address violence in the West Bank, attacks on Gaza health workers, and Israel’s recent Knesset vote to reinstate the death penalty for Palestinians.

Critics say the EU has limited itself to words, failing to use economic or diplomatic leverage. Andrews called the EU’s response to Israel’s actions “weak and pathetic,” adding that Israel has repeatedly been given “a permission slip for endless war crimes.”

Experts suggest the EU could suspend its €68bn trade agreement with Israel, halt military support, and end trade with settlements.

Former EU envoy Sven Kühn von Burgdorff said failing to act risks further damaging Europe’s reputation: “Words of concern are meaningless without effective measures to hold Israel accountable.”

The European Commission condemned the death penalty vote as “very concerning” and a step backwards, while the Council of Europe described it as incompatible with modern human rights standards.

Western leaders have warned Israel against a ground offensive in Lebanon, while condemning Hezbollah attacks.

Over the past month, more than 1,240 people have died in Lebanon, including at least 124 children, with over 1.1 million displaced.

In Gaza, at least 673 deaths have been reported since October, bringing the total to 72,260.

EU responses have been cautious due to political divisions and strategic ties with Israel and the US.

While countries like Ireland, Spain, and Slovenia back Palestinians, Germany and Austria remain reluctant to criticise Israel.

Hungary’s Viktor Orbán has blocked measures such as sanctions on West Bank settlers.

Kühn von Burgdorff urged a stronger approach, saying Europe risks being seen as “a sidekick of an erratic US president or a warmongering Israeli prime minister,” which he argued harms Europe’s global interests.