International Calls Urge Israel to Lift Aid Restrictions in Gaza
The Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza Intensifies
Several nations from the Middle East and Asia have called on Israel to allow "immediate, complete, and unrestricted humanitarian deliveries" to the Gaza Strip as winter storms impact the bombarded territory. In a statement issued on Friday, foreign ministers from Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Pakistan, and Indonesia warned that the "deteriorating" conditions in Gaza have left nearly 1.9 million displaced Palestinians in an extremely vulnerable situation.
"Flooded camps, damaged tents, collapsed buildings, and exposure to low temperatures, combined with malnutrition, have significantly increased risks to civilians' lives," the statement read. These countries have urged the international community to "pressure Israel, as the occupying power, to immediately lift restrictions on the entry and distribution of essential supplies such as tents, shelter materials, medical assistance, drinking water, fuel, and sanitary support."
Israel has maintained strict restrictions on the entrance of humanitarian aid into Gaza, despite its obligations under international law to ensure the basic needs of Palestinians in this enclave are met. A ceasefire mediated by the United States between Israel and Hamas, which came into effect in October, stipulated that Israeli authorities must allow hundreds of aid trucks to enter Gaza daily; however, Israel has not complied with this requirement, continuing to block shipments despite increasingly difficult winter conditions and a lack of proper shelter, blankets, and other supplies.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian families have sought refuge in makeshift shelters and overcrowded camps as their homes have been destroyed in the Israeli genocidal war. In recent weeks, several people have been killed as damaged buildings collapsed under the weight of torrential rains. Additionally, Palestinian children have died from hypothermia as low temperatures continue to affect the area.
Separately, on Friday, Israeli forces killed one Palestinian and injured several others in western Khan Younis, southern Gaza, according to Nasser Hospital. Four Palestinians, including a woman and two children, were seriously injured after an Israeli drone fired a grenade at a tent where displaced persons were gathered in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza.
The foreign ministers praised international organizations and humanitarian groups for their continued support to Palestinians "in extremely difficult and complex circumstances" in Gaza. They also called on Israel to allow UN agencies and international organizations to operate in Gaza and the West Bank "consistently, predictably, and without restrictions." "Any attempt to hinder their ability to operate is unacceptable," they stated.
This condemnation comes in the context of Israel's recent decision to implement a ban on 37 international NGOs operating in Gaza and the West Bank for failing to meet new registration requirements. Experts have denounced the Israeli government's new rules as arbitrary and a violation of humanitarian principles. NGOs have also raised concerns that providing personal information about Palestinian employees puts these workers at risk of being targeted by the Israeli army. According to the Gaza Government Press Office, Israel has killed approximately 500 workers and volunteers in the enclave since the start of the war in October 2023. Doctors Without Borders, one of the groups affected by the NGO ban, emphasized in a statement on Friday that 15 of its colleagues had been killed by Israeli forces. "In any context - especially in one where medical and humanitarian workers have been intimidated, arbitrarily detained, attacked, and killed in large numbers - the request for employee lists as a condition for access to the territory is an extremely serious abuse," the organization stated.
