Israel has agreed to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip. Aid convoys with tons of food, fuel, medicine and water have been waiting at the closed Egyptian border crossing for days.
In view of the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, Israel has agreed to deliver aid from Egypt to the people in the south of the Gaza Strip. Israel will not oppose US President Joe Biden’s call to provide civilians with food, water and medicine, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
“Any shipment that reaches Hamas will be prevented,” Netanyahu emphasized. Nevertheless, he made it clear: “Israel will not allow humanitarian aid from its territory into the Gaza Strip until our kidnapped hostages are returned.” Israel is also demanding visits from the Red Cross to the hostages. Work is underway to mobilize international support for this demand.
The UN and Red Cross are ready with trucks
Ready humanitarian aid deliveries for the population in the Gaza Strip can currently only be brought across the Egyptian border. The only border crossing, Rafah, is closed. Aid transports have been queuing there for days – including a convoy from the UN World Food Program (WFP). According to its own information, the aid organization will be able to provide food to more than 800,000 people in the Gaza Strip as soon as the border is opened. “There is no clear explanation or communication as to what exactly the problem is,” WFP regional spokeswoman Abeer Etefa said yesterday.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has also mobilized a convoy with 60 tons of relief supplies to help the suffering population in the Gaza Strip. The supplies, which include medicines and bandages, could be brought to the Gaza Strip, but only if it is safe to do so, the ICRC said.
It is unclear whether the border crossing will or can be opened by Egypt. The crossing was apparently damaged by shelling and now needs to be repaired. According to Egyptian information, a total of around 3,000 tons of goods are available there.
Borrell: Blockade of the Water supply is Violation of international lawß
The closure of the Gaza Strip has been met with massive international criticism for days. Most recently, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell commented on the blockage of the water supply. In his opinion, it violates international law. The European Union “cannot accept this,” said Borrell in front of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. It is “clearly a violation of international law to deny basic water supplies to a beleaguered human community. If we cannot name this, we lack the moral authority to speak out.”
At the same time, Borrell reiterated that after the attacks by the radical Islamic Hamas, Israel had the right to defend itself within the framework of international law. Immediately after the major attack by the militant Islamist Hamas, the Israeli government ordered the complete closure of the Gaza Strip.