The EU has struggled to find a strong united position on the Gaza war, which was triggered by attacks by Hamas Palestinian militants on Israel on Oct. 7 last year. The bloc has called on Hamas to release all Israeli hostages and on both sides to respect international law.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Thursday rejected top EU diplomat Josep Borrell's proposal to suspend regular political dialogue with Israel in response to the wars in Gaza and Lebanon. "We are always in favour of keeping channels of dialogue open.

The EU's Josep Borrell has proposed suspending the political dialogue agreement with Israel due to its actions in Gaza, while Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of crimes against humanity. DW has more.

The European Parliament voted on Thursday for a 12-month delay to the implementation of a law banning the import of commodities linked to deforestation, and adopted a series of amendments to weaken the law itself.

Environmentalists said the changes would amount to exempting some EU nations entirely from the scope of the law. The amendments de facto restart the legislative process, as the new text needs to be re-discussed by the commission and member states.

The European Parliament demanded further changes to a landmark law to tackle global deforestation, adding complications to a plan to delay the controversial rules before they take effect later this year.