LONDON: The foreign ministers of 10 countries warned on Tuesday that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is “catastrophic”, expressing serious concern over a “renewed deterioration” as winter conditions worsen and basic services continue to collapse.
The warning came a day after US President Donald Trump warned Palestinian group Hamas that there would be “hell to pay” if it fails to disarm in Gaza.
“As winter draws in, civilians in Gaza are facing appalling conditions with heavy rainfall and temperatures dropping,” the ministers of Britain, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland said in a joint statement released by the UK’s Foreign Office.
“1.3 million people still require urgent shelter support. More than half of health facilities are only partially functional and face shortages of essential medical equipment and supplies. The total collapse of sanitation infrastructure has left 740,000 people vulnerable to toxic flooding,” the statement added.
Trump’s comments on Monday also downplayed reports of tensions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the second stage of the fragile Gaza ceasefire.
The US President, speaking at a news conference with Netanyahu in Florida, said Israel had “lived up” to its commitments and that the onus was on Hamas.
The foreign ministers in their statement said they welcomed the progress that had been made to end the Israeli bombardment campaign in Gaza and secure the release of hostages.
“However we will not lose focus on the plight of civilians in Gaza,” they said, calling on the government of Israel to take a string of “urgent and essential” steps.
These included ensuring that international NGOs could operate in Gaza in a “sustained and predictable” way.
“As 31 December approaches, many established international NGO partners are at risk of being deregistered because of the government of Israel’s restrictive new requirements,” the statement said.
It also called for the UN and its partners to be able to continue their work in Gaza and for the lifting of “unreasonable restrictions on imports considered to have a dual use”.
This included medical and shelter equipment.
Opening of crossings for aid
The ministers also called for the opening of crossings to boost the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
While welcoming the partial opening of the Allenby crossing, they said other corridors for moving goods remained closed or severely restricted for humanitarian aid, including Rafah.
“Bureaucratic customs processes and extensive screenings are causing delays, while commercial cargo is being allowed in more freely,” the statement said.
“The target of 4,200 trucks per week, including an allocation of 250 UN trucks per day, should be a floor not a ceiling. These targets should be lifted so we can be sure the vital supplies are getting in at the vast scale needed,” it added.
The Gaza ceasefire in October is considered one of the major achievements of Trump’s first year back in power, and Washington and regional mediators have hoped to keep their foot on the gas.
