PARIS, September 10. /TASS/. The European Commission plans to put its support to Israel on hold, sanction Israeli cabinet members and partially suspend the Association Agreement, the commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen said.

"We will put our bilateral support to Israel on hold. We will stop all payments in these areas - without affecting our work with Israeli civil society <...>. We will propose sanctions on the extremist ministers," she pointed out in her 2025 State of the Union address to the European Parliament.

However, according to the European Commission chief, "it will be difficult to find majorities."

Von der Leyen stressed that "what is happening in Gaza is unacceptable." "Man-made famine can never be a weapon of war. For the sake of the children, for the sake of humanity - this must stop," she added.

The European Commission president called for preventing attempts to destroy the idea of an independent Palestinian state. She noted that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict should be resolved based on the two-state solution.

Earlier, top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas admitted that EU nations were divided and not prepared to impose even soft sanctions on Israel.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the launch of Operation Gideon's Chariots in the northern and southern parts of the enclave on May 18. Its stated goal is the total defeat of Hamas and the release of all Israeli hostages held in Gaza. According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the operation aims to establish Israeli control of the entire Gaza.