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Irish MEP Barry Andrews toured makeshift shelters in Beirut last month, where displaced families are living on dirty mattresses and blankets and suffering from infections. The conditions, he said, are worse than during Israel’s 2024 incursion, underscoring the human cost of Israel’s retaliatory strikes after Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel.On returning to Dublin, Andrews became one of the first European lawmakers to urge the European Union to revive sanctions against Israel. He argued that the EU must also address state‑backed settler violence in the West Bank, attacks on health workers in Gaza, and Israel’s recent move to reinstate the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of terrorism.The EU’s leverage lies in its association agreement with Israel, a commerce and cooperation accord that underpins a €68 billion (€59 bn) trading relationship and includes cooperation on energy and scientific research. Former EU representative to the Palestinian territories, Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff, says the bloc should suspend this agreement, halt all military aid, and cease trade with illegal settlements, warning that inaction will further damage the EU’s reputation.Andrews described the EU’s reaction to the Iran‑Israel‑Lebanon war as “weak and pathetic,” adding that it effectively gives Israel a “permission slip for endless war crimes.” The European Commission condemned the Knesset’s death‑penalty vote as “very concerning” and a “clear step backwards,” while the Council of Europe called it a “legal anachronism” incompatible with modern human‑rights standards.Human‑rights figures note that in the past four weeks more than 1,240 people have been killed in Lebanon—including at least 124 children—and over 1.1 million have been displaced. In Gaza, the death toll has risen by 673 since the October ceasefire, bringing the total to 72,260 deaths.EU leaders have been divided on how to respond. Former Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed unprecedented sanctions last September, citing a “man‑made famine” in Gaza, but the proposal failed to secure a majority in the Council of Ministers, losing momentum after the U.S. announced a cease‑fire plan.Member states also differ: Ireland, Spain and Slovenia champion the Palestinian cause, whereas Germany, Austria and Hungary—led by Viktor Orbán, a close ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—have resisted measures such as sanctions on West Bank settlers.Despite these divisions, a senior EU diplomat warned in mid‑March that the bloc may need to “increase pressure on Israel again,” citing the “highly problematic” situation in Gaza and the West Bank. Another diplomat highlighted the importance of engaging with Israeli civil society, noting an open letter from 600 Israeli security officials urging an end to the Gaza war.In a recent statement, a Commission spokesperson reiterated that diplomatic engagement with Israel continues, describing it as the standard approach when partners “do not see developments eye to eye.” Yet former EU envoy Kühn von Burgsdorff cautioned that the EU cannot appear as a “sidekick” to an “erratic, unreliable” U.S. president or a “warmongering, annexationist” Israeli prime minister, as such a stance would undermine Europe’s global standing.

Russia's Ministry of Defence has declared that its forces have gained complete control over the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine. This development comes as Moscow continues its efforts to expand its territorial control in the region. The ministry stated that units of the 'West' military grouping have completed the 'liberation' of the Luhansk People's Republic, a term used by Moscow to refer to the Ukrainian region. However, there was no immediate confirmation of this claim from Ukrainian authorities. Luhansk, along with Donetsk, forms the broader Donbas area. More than 99 percent of Luhansk has been under Russian control since the beginning of the 2022 invasion. The region was one of four Ukrainian territories annexed by Russia in 2022. Additionally, Russia controls approximately three-quarters of Donetsk. The Kremlin reiterated its demand for Ukrainian forces to withdraw from the entirety of Donetsk, which Kyiv has consistently rejected. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to withdraw his forces from the Donbas area, suggesting that this would bring an end to what Russia refers to as the 'hot phase' of the war. In related developments, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that Russia used 339 drones in overnight attacks on Ukraine. These attacks resulted in the deaths of two women in a civilian car in the Kherson region. Zelenskyy also mentioned that he would be holding a video call with US envoys to discuss stalled negotiations with Russia. Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones have been reported to have crossed into the airspace of several countries, including Estonia, Finland, and Latvia. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha clarified that Ukraine never aimed drones at these countries.

In a recent editorial, the Guardian highlighted the danger of Israel applying the same brutal tactics used in Gaza to Lebanon, and Medical Aid for Palestinians echoes that warning.Field reports from Lebanon describe a climate of terror fueled by mass forced‑displacement orders and relentless military strikes, including assaults on healthcare workers. Aid groups are scrambling to assist Palestinian refugees who have fled their homes, while many others remain trapped, deepening panic in already overcrowded camps plagued by poverty and scarce services.The Israeli military appears to be mirroring Gaza’s playbook: terrorising civilians, imposing forced displacement, and targeting humanitarian and medical infrastructure. Despite a declared cease‑fire in Gaza, Israeli attacks have killed more than 690 Palestinians since October, and restrictions on aid are creating lethal shortages of medicines and equipment.Meanwhile, the West Bank endures escalating settler violence and an Israeli annexation agenda that now threatens to extend into Lebanon, further destabilising the region.Medical Aid for Palestinians stresses that impunity for attacks on civilians and health services endangers both the populations they serve and the organisation’s staff across Gaza, the occupied West Bank and Lebanon.According to the statement, the UK government must not cherry‑pick when to uphold international law. It calls for decisive action to hold all perpetrators accountable, warning that inaction will lead to catastrophic human costs. The world, it asserts, cannot allow the horrors witnessed in Gaza to be replayed in Lebanon, and governments should not become complicit allies of such atrocities.

Every year on March 30, Palestinians observe Land Day, or Yom al-Ard, recalling the events of 50 years ago when Israeli forces killed six unarmed Palestinians and injured over 100 during protests against Israel's confiscation of Palestinian land.On March 30, 1976, Israel ordered the confiscation of 2,000 hectares (4,942 acres) of land belonging to Palestinian citizens of Israel in the Galilee, as part of its policy to Judaise Galilee following the creation of the State of Israel.The protests, which were concentrated in the Palestinian towns of Sakhnin, Arrabeh, and Deir Hanna, were met with brutal force by Israeli authorities. The confiscated land is roughly the size of 3,000 football pitches or the area from the southern tip of Manhattan to the start of Central Park in New York.Palestinians, both in Israel and across the occupied Palestinian territory, mark this day by holding protests, vigils, and planting olive trees to reaffirm their connection to the land. However, these protests are often met with brutal use of force by Israel.Israel has continued to seize large swaths of Palestinian land, designating them as military zones, state land, and other labels. Recently, on February 8, 2026, Israel's security cabinet approved measures to expand its powers across the occupied West Bank, including easing the sale of Palestinian land to Israeli settlers.Rights groups and several countries have condemned Israel's land grab, calling it “de facto annexation” and a “deliberate and direct attack” on the viability of a Palestinian state. Since October 7, 2023, Israel has ramped up both formal settlement approvals and informal outpost establishments.According to Peace Now, an Israeli anti-settlement group, Israel approved 12,349 housing units in 2023, 9,884 in 2024, and a record 27,941 in 2025. In December, Israel's security cabinet approved plans to formalize 19 illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called for the annexation of southern Lebanon, stating that the region's bombardment "needs to end with a different reality entirely", including a "change of Israel's borders".In a radio interview, Smotrich suggested that the new Israeli border should be the Litani River, a critical waterway in southern Lebanon. This comes as Israel continues its military operations in the area, targeting residential buildings and civilian infrastructure.The United Nations has warned that Israeli attacks may amount to war crimes, with over 1,039 people killed, including 118 children, and 2,876 wounded in Lebanon since early March. The conflict has also led to the displacement of over 1.2 million people, with many fleeing under threat of attack.The Israeli military has issued forced displacement orders for southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut, prompting hundreds of thousands to flee. The World Health Organization has recorded at least 64 attacks on healthcare facilities, resulting in 51 deaths and 91 injuries.

US President Donald Trump has claimed he is having 'productive' conversations with Iran, leading to a five-day pause in US strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure. However, Tehran denies these talks exist, casting doubt on the situation.If real, these talks would be a welcome de-escalatory step, but they also indicate that Trump's threat of war risked severe consequences that could damage more than just the intended target.Meanwhile, Israel is advancing measures in the West Bank that shift its occupation to annexation. The Israeli cabinet approved land registration in roughly half of the West Bank, which could lead to large-scale dispossession of Palestinians. This move is illegal under international law, according to the Israeli liberal advocacy organization Peace Now.Settlers have been reported to have imposed a reign of terror in the West Bank, with Israeli forces seemingly turning a blind eye. The Guardian reported coordinated settler attacks across Palestinian villages, including arson and violent assaults.The article suggests that Israel's moves may be driven by a desire to consolidate territorial control while US support is still available. With many Americans questioning the cost of the alliance, Israel may be trying to lock in favorable outcomes before the situation changes.