For peace and aid to flow, Hamas must go

Recent remarks by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas raise serious concerns about the bloc’s understanding—and handling—of the war in Gaza. 

In threatening Israel with vague consequences if humanitarian aid is not delivered as pledged, the EU risks adopting a position that is either naïve or, worse, openly hostile to Israel’s right to self-defense.

Kallas condemned the killing of civilians near aid distribution points, calling it "indefensible" and warning that "all options remain on the table" if Israel fails to act. 

What she fails to acknowledge is the very reason humanitarian operations are fraught with danger in Gaza: Hamas and other Islamist groups deliberately use civilians as shields and actively disrupt the delivery of aid when they are not in control of its distribution.

The reality is grim and complex. Hamas still refuses to release Israeli hostages—more than nine months into the conflict. 

Its fighters continue to embed themselves in civilian areas, weaponizing their own people to provoke outrage and manipulate global opinion. Meanwhile, they flood social media and sympathetic outlets with inflated or fabricated casualty figures designed to shock, without independent verification.

By ignoring these tactics, Kallas and the EU risk falling into a propaganda trap. If humanitarian aid is to flow freely and safely, the international community should start by demanding the disarmament and dismantling of Hamas and all terror networks operating in Gaza.

Anything less is not diplomacy—it is appeasement. The EU must find the courage not just to criticize Israel, but to call out those who perpetuate this conflict from within, and who view civilian suffering not as tragedy, but as strategy.