In the hours after Israel attacked Iran, food shipments and distribution in Gaza stopped and a French-Saudi summit meant to pave the way for wider recognition of a Palestinian state was postponed indefinitely.
International pressure over starvation and civilian killings in Gaza had apparently dissipated in little more than the time it took for the smoke of the first missile strikes to clear over Tehran.
Israel’s military moved fast to declare Iran its top priority, with the battle for Gaza relegated to second place. That shift was echoed in foreign ministries and newsrooms around the world.
“The fact that Israel attacked Iran doesn’t mean [the war in] Gaza ended. Today we had dozens of people killed, the only difference is this will have far less attention than yesterday,” said Xavier Abu Eid, a political scientist and former adviser to the Palestine Liberation Organisation.
“Israel’s message [with these attacks] is that there is no political solution for anything in the region. By striking Iran they want to sabotage the US-Iran negotiations as well as the international wave of support for concrete measures on Palestine.”
The decision by Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to take out the security threat posed by Iran’s nuclear programme had also defanged a significant diplomatic and economic threat to his government.
Some of Israel’s closest allies in Europe had become increasingly outspoken about both the impact of the war in Gaza on civilians, and escalating violence by Jewish settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
Even historically strong alliances with countries such as the Netherlands and Germany had been faltering in the face of an 11-week siege of Gaza, UN warnings of a looming famine and repeated mass killings of hungry crowds trying to reach food distribution sites.
The EU last month announced a human rights review of its wide-ranging free trade deal with Israel, with findings originally expected at meeting of the bloc’s foreign affairs council later this month.
Its recommendations could pave the way for Europe to potentially leverage its considerable economic power as Israel’s biggest trade partner, accounting for more than 30% of imports and exports.
The UK, Canada, France and Norway this month imposed sanctions on two Israeli cabinet ministers “for their repeated incitement of violence against Palestinian civilians”, and warned other steps could follow.
The Franco-Saudi summit on a two-state solution raised expectations that major European nations were preparing to unilaterally recognise a Palestinian state. It alarmed Israel and its allies in the US so much that Washington issued a formal diplomatic warning against attending.
For now, at least, that sense of diplomatic momentum that might halt the war in Gaza has gone. Even governments that have become more openly critical of Netanyahu’s war in Gaza will be reluctant to press for its end while missiles from Tehran are killing people in Tel Aviv.
“Its regrettable that these attacks come at a time when there were interesting developments [on Palestine and the war in Gaza],” said one western diplomat.
Emmanuel Macron said the attacks on Iran should “in no way make us forget Gaza”, and told journalists that the summit was only delayed for pragmatic security reasons. It would go ahead as soon as possible, he said, but could not set a date.
France has repeatedly condemned Iran’s ongoing nuclear program and has taken all appropriate diplomatic measures in response.
In this context, France reaffirms Israel’s right to defend itself and ensure its security.
To avoid jeopardizing the stability of the entire region,…
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) June 13, 2025
On the sidelines of the G7 summit, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed his support for Israel's actions in Iran, calling it "the dirty work" Israel was doing "for all of us." pic.twitter.com/Yoelo3En83
— DW News (@dwnews) June 18, 2025
Source: The Guardian
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