The number of killed in battle —counted from 1860 to the present—has reached 25,648. Since the previous Memorial Day, 174 more have been added. Since October 7, 2023, approximately 1,670–1,680 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed in acts of hostility, about 500 of whom were soldiers and other security personnel. During the same period, approximately 60,000–65,000 people were killed in Gaza, at least half of them women and children. According to Military Intelligence data (2025), about 7,000–9,000 of them were Hamas personnel. Between 1,000 and 1,221 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since October 7, 2023. Most were killed by security forces’ fire, and dozens were killed as a result of settler violence. At least 263 of them were minors.

These figures are one of the reasons Europe is losing patience with Israel’s government. If after October 7 Israel received sympathy across the continent and its leaders flew here to embrace Netanyahu, then within a few weeks, as war crimes against civilians in the Gaza Strip became apparent, the trend began to reverse. Now, two and a half years after Hamas’s murderous terror attack, the situation has worsened immeasurably, for many reasons: settler violence in the West Bank; legislation of a death penalty law intended only for Palestinians; the war with Iran, which Europe opposes, as well as its reservations about President Trump, Israel’s ally; the killing of civilians in Lebanon; and, of course, the war crimes and the lack of a solution to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The cancellation of the memorandum of understanding with Italy, together with the loss of Hungary’s veto in the European Union, are early and prominent signs of a shift in Europe. Ireland, Spain, and Slovenia have long taken a sharply critical stance toward Israel, but recently even countries once considered friendly have shown growing reservations. France and Britain have recognized the State of Palestine, and now countries once seen as allies, such as Italy and Germany, are turning their backs. It should also not be ignored that the Democratic Party in the United States is distancing itself, and that isolationist MAGA figures within the Republican Party are not particularly supportive of Israel.

The Netanyahu–Smotrich government shows no sign of intending to respond to European criticism or that from the United States. As long as the capricious and unpredictable Trump does not decide otherwise, it will continue the settlement enterprise and ethnic cleansing at full momentum. Since the major Israeli opposition parties that are expected to win the next elections refrain from declaring any intention to act in practice against Israeli settler terrorism, and since they do not oppose the endless war itself but only its management, the implication is that a significant change in direction will come only through international pressure.

Human rights organizations united under the “Partnership for Peace” have sent a public letter in this context to international organizations, human rights bodies, and media outlets in Europe, with the aim of applying pressure on their governments. Already, there is growing interest abroad in developments in the occupied territories, and journalists from dozens of media outlets are accompanying activists, telling the story of what they describe as ethnic cleansing accompanied by Israeli settler terror, and interviewing them alongside Palestinian residents.

The letter states: "The Peace Partnership is a coalition of Jewish and Arab organizations in Israel, committed to advancing a peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians, resisting the occupation and the Israeli oppression of the Palestinian people.

"We are deeply concerned about the Israeli policy in the West Bank and the severe and continuous escalation of systematic violence against Palestinians. This violence is being committed by settlers with the full support of the Israeli military and government. The violent reality has led to the expulsion of 47 Palestinian communities in a process of ethnic cleansing. A wave of murder, arson, aggression, and intense violence is terrorizing the Palestinian population around the clock.

"These are not scattered incidents but an integrated and consistent policy of occupation, apartheid and annexation. Its purpose is clear – to push the Palestinian population away from the land: in area C, area B, and in military operations in area A of the West Bank.

“He who accepts the occupation accepts murder” wrote the philosopher Yeshayahu Leibowitz. When he said this, the occupation was still young. Today, it is not a warning but a description of an ongoing reality. The lack of effective action by the international community enables the continued escalation and deepening of harm, despite countless violations of international law."

The authors of the letter call on the international community, human rights organizations, and the media to act urgently to stop the violence and protect Palestinian civilians. They ask that Israel be required to enforce effective and equal law enforcement beyond the Green Line in order to bring about a complete halt to attacks on Palestinian communities, to promote independent investigations and international monitoring mechanisms, and to demand the return of displaced communities to their lands along with compensation for damages.

(Data: Ministry of Defense and AI)