European leaders, including Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain, President Emmanuel Macron of France, and Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany, launched an urgent diplomatic effort in July to halt the war in Gaza. Their actions were driven by mounting public pressure and harrowing images of starvation among Palestinian children, which galvanized calls for immediate recognition of a Palestinian state and a renewed push for peace.

Britain circulated an eight-point plan for resolving the conflict, which was quickly endorsed by 22 Arab nations at a United Nations conference co-hosted by France and Saudi Arabia. The plan called for Hamas to disarm, a technocratic government for Gaza, and a timeline toward a two-state solution. Despite these efforts, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expanded military operations, and the United States declined to support the European-led initiative.

European officials acknowledged that their diplomatic surge might not change the situation on the ground without American involvement, but insisted that inaction was not an option. The episode highlights both the limits of European influence and the urgent desire for a new approach to ending the violence in Gaza.