Belgium’s King Philippe delivered a powerful plea for decisive European action to end the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza, calling the situation “a disgrace to humanity.”

In a televised address on the eve of Belgium’s National Day, King Philippe passionately condemned the ongoing atrocities in Gaza, aligning with UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ urgent calls to end the violence.

The King said the suffering in Gaza has persisted “far too long” and demanded immediate action to halt the slaughter. “This is no longer a political issue — it is a question of basic human dignity,” King Philippe stated. “The situation in Gaza is intolerable, and the world must not continue looking away.”

His call came on a day of fresh bloodshed in Gaza, where at least 73 Palestinians were martyred and more than 150 wounded on Sunday as they tried to access desperately needed humanitarian aid.

Most of the victims were shot near the Zikim crossing in northern Gaza — unarmed civilians targeted as they sought food under siege.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, over 922 Palestinians have been martyred and more than 6,000 injured in recent weeks alone — many of them while trying simply to survive, facing bullets as they searched for bread and water.

“People are being gunned down in front of cameras while the so-called civilized world remains silent,” a spokesperson for the ministry said, adding that the ongoing Israeli blockade amounts to a war crime.

King Philippe echoed the words of UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who has repeatedly demanded an immediate end to Israel’s relentless aggression and a lifting of the inhumane blockade suffocating the people of Gaza.

“We fully support the call for an end to this unbearable crisis,” King Philippe declared, urging stronger European leadership and an end to the EU’s complicity through silence.

He underlined that European governments have a moral duty to confront Israel’s violations of international law and uphold justice for the Palestinian people.

The Belgian monarch’s statement stands out as one of the strongest and clearest condemnations from a Western head of state since the beginning of Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza.

By describing the situation as a “disgrace to humanity”, King Philippe directly challenged the apathy and hypocrisy that has allowed the destruction of Gaza to continue unchecked.

“We cannot celebrate our own national values while remaining blind to the destruction of an entire people,” he said. “Belgium stands for justice, and justice demands action.”

Despite widespread documentation of Israeli war crimes, including indiscriminate bombing, forced starvation, and the targeting of civilians, much of the international community has continued to offer Israel political cover and arms shipments.

Gaza is now on the brink of total collapse — its hospitals bombed, its children starving, and its civilians hunted for daring to seek food.

King Philippe’s remarks have been welcomed by Palestinian rights groups and humanitarian organizations, who view them as a rare but critical shift toward holding Israel accountable and ending the international impunity that fuels its aggression.

As Belgium prepares to mark its National Day, the King’s bold stance has brought the voice of conscience into Europe’s halls of power.

“Our shared humanity compels us to act,” he concluded. “We cannot stand by as Gaza is reduced to rubble. The time for justice is now.” (ILKHA)