The EU envoy to Gaza filmed himself parachuting into the region and declared: “Once we have a free Palestine, you can do the same” – three months before Hamas attackers flew into Israel to carry out an attack

A former European Union diplomat filmed himself hovering over Gaza saying: “Once we have a free Palestine, you can do the same” – three months before Hamas terrorists flew into Israel to launch a bloody invasion .

Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff, EU envoy to Palestine until August, said he was hovering off the Mediterranean coast to “draw attention to the besieged Palestinian enclave”.

Just three months after the stunt, the region’s rulers, Hamas, launched an attack on Israel by land, sea and air, prompting retaliatory Israeli strikes that destroyed large swathes of the impoverished enclave.

In the years before the conflict broke out, the densely populated strip of land was blockaded by Israel – which Mr von Burgsdorff represents in the resurfaced video – preventing Palestinians and visitors from exercising.

Dressed in an EU flag T-shirt, the German diplomat enthusiastically boasted in the video that he had completed the “first Gaza paragliding flight in history”.

The paragliding equipment belonged to the envoy, an EU spokesman said at the time

Wearing an EU flag T-shirt, the German diplomat enthusiastically boasted in the video that he had completed the “first Gaza paragliding flight in history”.

One of the paragliders took off before being joined by the other members of the Hamas group

At first he struggled to take off and waited for the wind to fill the parachute and lift him off the ground. He received help from his team and the local residents.

After flying into the air and returning safely to the cliff, he said the feat was proven: “Here you can fly, you can kayak, you can ride a horse, you can swim, you can surf.” Anything is possible in Gaza.

“Once we have a free Palestine and a free Gaza, you can do exactly the same thing. And that’s why I did it, to show you the way forward and work for it.”

The paragliding equipment belonged to the envoy, an EU spokesman said at the time, suggesting he had managed to get through border controls thanks to his diplomatic immunity.

Mr. von Burgsdorff was at a height of 50 meters in the air for at least five minutes, the spokesman said, adding that Israel was unaware of “the purely local and sporting activities.”

The Israeli Foreign Ministry called the stunt a “provocative act” and accused von Burgsdorff of “representing the Palestinian narrative” and not the EU.

Mr. von Burgsdorff has recently come under fire for comments he made about Israel’s response to the Hamas terror attacks on October 7, in which 1,400 Israelis were killed and more than 220 taken hostage.

He told Democracy Now that while he understands the “desperation” and “emotional tension” in Israel over the terrorists’ invasion, they must adhere to international law in their retaliation.

“Whatever Hamas has done, it does not justify the incredible use of lethal force, indiscriminately and without proportionality, as it affects the Palestinian population in Gaza.

Mr von Burgsdorff was 50 meters in the air for at least five minutes, an EU spokesman said, adding that Israel was unaware of “the purely domestic and sporting activities”.

“Distinction, proportionality and caution are sacred principles of the code of conduct in armed hostilities.” And Israel, as a democracy, cannot escape this and must be held responsible.

“It cannot be that Israel has carte blanche, because 1,000 or even 1,200 Israelis have committed terrible, brutal and heinous acts. That is not the excuse to close Gaza.”

While Mr. von Burgsdorff criticized Israel’s brutal attack on the Gaza Strip, he failed to condemn Hamas’ attack on Israeli citizens.

Hamas fighters from the Falcon Squadron were seen walking through the sand at dawn with the equipment that would be used in the operation

According to the Israeli army, Hamas fighters bypassed the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip using paragliders (Photo: A paraglider flies to Israel)

Young revelers danced and enjoyed the Nova festival on the Gaza border on October 7, completely unaware that members of the militant group Hamas were about to descend from the sky and spread terror.

In a video released a few days later, Hamas fighters were seen training for their deadly paragliding attack.

It showed them landing with weapons drawn before infiltrating mock buildings marked with the Jewish Star of David.

In response to Hamas’ horrific attack on Israeli territory, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war on the terrorist group and launched widespread airstrikes on the Gaza Strip in the days and weeks that followed.

More than 4,600 people have been killed and more than 14,000 injured in Gaza since October 7, according to the region’s Hamas-run health authority.

Israeli warplanes continued to attack targets in Gaza and two airports in Syria over the weekend and into Monday morning, according to local media.

Meanwhile, around 95 people are thought to have died in the occupied West Bank, where a mosque allegedly used by terrorists was bombed by Israeli forces last weekend.