Something changed in Brussels over the last few days: After more than a year and a half of urging Israel to end bombardments and blockades of Gaza, the EU took a step toward backing its words with action.

"The mood has hardened significantly," one EU diplomat who asked not to be named told DW.

With the United Nations warning of a "grave risk of famine" in Gaza, the EU's executive — for the first time — has proposed penalizing Israel by barring Israeli startups from accessing some EU research funds.

"With its intervention in the Gaza Strip and the ensuing humanitarian catastrophe, including thousands of civilian deaths and rapidly rising numbers of spreading extreme malnutrition specifically of children, Israel is violating human rights and humanitarian law and thus is in breach of an essential principle of ... EU-Israel cooperation," the European Commission wrote in its proposal on Monday.

But the plan isn't over the line yet.

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

The new proposal hit a hurdle immediately after reaching the EU's 27 capitals. Some states, including Germany, were asking for more time to asses the plan, EU diplomats told DW. And without Berlin's backing, the plan is unlikely to advance.

On Monday, Israel's Foreign Ministry called Brussels' proposal "unjustified" and claimed any such punitive measures would only serve to "strengthen Hamas."

Oxfam's Bushra Khalidi told DW there is now "clearly growing pressure within some pockets of the [EU] Commission, backed by some EU countries, to shift course" toward taking action on Israel.

"But let's be clear," she added. "The fact that the EU cannot even agree on the smallest step is a disgrace. The bar is on the floor, and yet the EU and some EU countries are still managing to trip........

© Deutsche Welle