Displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday recounted their suffering in the war-torn region as the latest round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict reached its three-year mark.
"The past three years feel like 300 years of exhaustion. We are not living a normal life. We are living in a different world, a world of deprivation and hunger, a world of death and destruction. It is a world where the suffering and pain never end," said Ghazi al-Nounou at a displacement camp in Gaza City.
Raed Bashir, another displaced Palestinian living in the camp, said the war has made his life "extremely difficult."
"Today, after three years of war, we have lost all our hopes and everything we worked to build. Our homes have been destroyed, we have lost our sense of security, and our children, women and elderly have been killed. Our lives have become extremely difficult," he said.
"What we have endured during displacement and while living in tents is indescribable. It truly cannot be described. When we were told to leave our homes, it felt as though our souls were being torn away from us. We thank God for everything," said another displaced Palestinian Abu Mohammed.
According to a statement from the Hamas-run Gaza Government Media Office, the ongoing conflict has claimed the lives of more than 74,000 people in the Gaza Strip, displaced more than 2 million people from their homes, and caused direct economic losses totaling over 80 billion U.S. dollars.
Gazans recount suffering as conflict hits three-year mark
The European Union (EU) remains deeply divided over its response to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as the crisis enters its third year, grappling with internal disagreements on pressuring Israel and the mounting economic spillover effects that are straining European livelihoods.
Over the past three years, amid the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, several EU member states have officially recognized the State of Palestine. However, the bloc faces a prolonged deadlock over whether to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement. Signed in 2000, the agreement provides a legal and institutional framework for political dialogue and economic cooperation, allowing certain Israeli products to enter the EU market duty-free or under preferential conditions.
Countries such as Spain and Ireland are demanding tougher measures to suspend the pact, while others, including Germany and Austria, maintain reservations, leaving the EU unable to form a unified stance. Beyond the diplomatic impasse, the protracted conflict's spillover effects have dealt a tangible blow to the European economy.
In an interview with China Media Group (CMG) via video link, a European policy expert noted that energy price fluctuations are impacting society across the board.
"The rise in energy prices will have an impact across the board and not only on our cost of living but also cost of production, cost of manufacturing, the cost of services. People in Europe are beginning to worry a lot about the cost of living, the cost of housing, the cost of food, and I think these issues need to be sorted pretty quickly," said Shada Islam, senior advisor at the European Policy Centre and founder of the New Horizons Project.
The expert also highlighted that the EU's failure to reach a collective consensus has forced member states to act individually, significantly weakening Europe's influence on the global stage.
"In the current situation where we are, the EU collectively is, as I said, paralyzed. Member states of the European Union have no alternative but to act on a national level, but to take unilateral action. Of course, we would be more powerful on the global stage, we would have more influence if we acted together, if we acted collectively. But that is not happening and it's been three years," she said.
EU divided over Palestinian-Israeli conflict as spillover effects mount
