A group of 27 countries, including Spain, and the European Union warned on Tuesday that the suffering in the Gaza Strip has reached “unimaginable levels” and called for urgent action to contain and reverse the serious food insecurity affecting the population.
PUBLICIDAD
In a joint statement signed by governments such as those of the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Switzerland, the signatories demanded that the humanitarian space be protected and called for aid not to be politicized.
PUBLICIDAD
They asked the government of Benjamin Netanyahu to fully authorize the work of international organizations and agencies and to adopt “immediate, permanent, and concrete” measures to ensure humanitarian access, for example, by allowing the smooth entry of supplies into the Gaza Strip. They also warned of the use of “lethal force” at distribution points and called for its use to be limited to protect civilians and humanitarian personnel.
The countries expressed their concern about the bureaucratic obstacles that Israel imposes on the work of NGOs and warned that these restrictions could force many organizations to leave Gaza and the West Bank, further exacerbating the crisis.
The EU denounces administrative obstacles
The European Commission denounced on Tuesday that Israel is imposing administrative obstacles to the delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza, despite the agreement reached to allow large-scale assistance. “There is progress, but it is far from being an ideal scenario and remains very insufficient,” declared the EU Humanitarian Aid spokesperson, Eva Hrncirova, at a press conference in Brussels.
Hrncirova explained that Israel is demanding lists of personnel and other requirements that are creating “increasingly more obstacles for the delivery of aid” and complicating the situation on the ground. Although countries like Germany and Spain have launched air shipments of aid, the spokesperson considered that these operations, while “spectacular,” do not constitute a sustainable solution: they can be dangerous, damage the dignity of the recipients, and do not guarantee the necessary scale. “What we need is full access to be able to offer aid on a much larger scale,” she concluded.
A month ago, the EU agreed with Israeli authorities on the daily entry of at least 160 humanitarian convoys and the supply of 200,000 liters of gasoline per day, but Brussels claims that Tel Aviv is not fulfilling the agreement. In addition, the EU still does not have authorization for its personnel to enter Gaza and verify on-site the increase in assistance. “We can barely control the situation in Gaza. We are not allowed to be there. It is in the hands of the Israeli authorities,” the spokesperson concluded.
Before the summit in Alaska between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, has demanded that any negotiation take into account the interests of Kiev and Europeans, and has rejected scenarios that would allow Russia to consolidate occupied Ukrainian territories. This Wednesday, Trump will participate in a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders, convened by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.