Belgium summons Israeli ambassador over plans to occupy Gaza City

8 August 2025

On Friday, Belgian Foreign minister Maxime Prévot summoned the Israeli ambassador, Idit Rosenzweig-Abu. Prévot wanted to make it clear that Belgium disapproves of Israel's decision to occupy Gaza and, by extension, the ongoing colonisation of Palestinian territories.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's call for a total occupation of the Gaza Strip, including Gaza City and the refugee camps, has caused concern and disapproval around the world. During the night of Thursday to Friday, the Israeli security cabinet approved the occupation of Gaza City.

On Friday, Belgian Foreign minister Maxime Prévot and his cabinet spoke of a series of unacceptable decisions in violation of international law. To make Belgium's stance clear, Prévot summoned the Israeli ambassador to Belgium, Idit Rosenzweig-Abu.

Global outrage

"We must strongly advocate the withdrawal of these plans, which would permanently jeopardise any prospect of a ceasefire and a peaceful, lasting two-state solution," said Prévot.

"While it is legitimate to want to destroy the terrorist group Hamas, this must not be done through disproportionate operations that will further extend the already very long list of Palestinian civilian casualties."

Criticism is not only coming from Belgium. On Friday, the UN called on Israel to halt its plans to occupy Gaza City immediately. UK prime minister Keir Starmer said the decision "will only bring more bloodshed". Even Germany, one of Israel's closest allies in Europe, has decided to stop exporting weapons that could be used in the Gaza Strip in response to the news.

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More evacuations

Also this week, Belgium evacuated around 40 people from the Gaza Strip. The group, which consisted mainly of children, arrived in the country on Thursday evening, according to the FPS Foreign Affairs.

Around 500 people are on Belgium's evacuation list. This includes Belgian citizens, as well as individuals with a valid visa or residence permit for Belgium. Additionally, partners and children of Belgian citizens are entitled to assistance from the government for evacuation.

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