Eurotopics.net

Israel's army has intensified its attacks on the Gaza Strip. Air and ground troops have been deployed, but so far no soldiers have entered the area. The move came after Hamas carried out further rocket attacks on Israel on Thursday. Europe's media examine the interests driving the escalation.

In many European countries new laws are under discussion to reduce emissions and counteract climate change. Commentators ask how much we must sacrifice if we want to save the climate - and how environmental protection and a growth-oriented economy can be combined.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is under investigation by the Prosecutors' Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption. Kurz is suspected of making false statements to a parliamentary commission probing the so-called Ibiza scandal, which led to the fall of the governing coalition between the conservative ÖVP and the right-wing FPÖ in 2019.

Opponents of LGBT rights and the implementation of the Istanbul Convention have called for a "March for the Family" in Vilnius on Saturday. Commentators examine the changing concept of family in Lithuania and the right to think differently.

The new outbreak in the Israeli-Palestine conflict is occupying international leaders and the press. The Israeli army says more than 1,000 rockets have been fired at Israel so far, and that its air force has responded with the most extensive air strikes against the Gaza Strip since the Gaza war of 2014. The United Nations has condemned the violence. Commentators are unsurprised by the escalation in tensions.