Foreign Ministers of 25 countries as well as two signatories from the EU have released a joint statement calling for the government of Israel to let in aid shipments and allow essential humanitarian actors to operate in Gaza.
The signatories include Australia, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.
Others are the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, the EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean and the EU Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management.
They asserted that humanitarian suffering in Gaza has reached “unimaginable levels,” stating that urgent action is needed now to halt and reverse starvation.
They said that the humanitarian space must be protected, and aid should never be politicised.
The signatories added that immediate, permanent and concrete steps must be taken to facilitate safe, large-scale access for the UN, international NGOs and humanitarian partners.
“All crossings and routes must be used to allow a flood of aid into Gaza, including food, nutrition supplies, shelter, fuel, clean water, medicine and medical equipment. Lethal force must not be used at distribution sites, and civilians, humanitarians and medical workers must be protected.”
Signatories
Also, the signatories expressed gratitude to the US, Qatar and Egypt for their efforts in pushing for a ceasefire and pursuing peace. “We need a ceasefire that can end the war, for hostages to be released and aid to enter Gaza by land unhindered,” they said.
Separately, the Elders group of international stateswomen and statesmen for the first time called the situation in Gaza an “unfolding genocide,” saying that Israel’s obstruction of aid was causing a “famine.”
The non-governmental group of public figures, founded by former South Africa President Nelson Mandela in 2007, said in a statement after delegates visited border crossings in Egypt, “Today we express our shock and outrage at Israel’s deliberate obstruction of the entry of life-saving humanitarian aid into Gaza.”
“What we saw and heard underlines our personal conviction that there is not only an unfolding, human-caused famine in Gaza. There is an unfolding genocide.”
The Elders
Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, called on Israel to open the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza so aid could be delivered, after visiting the site.
“Many new mothers are unable to feed themselves or their newborn babies adequately, and the health system is collapsing. All of this threatens the very survival of an entire generation.”
Helen Clark
Clark was joined by Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and former UN High Commissioner for human rights, on the visit. She said that international leaders “have the power and the legal obligation to apply measures to pressure this Israeli government to end its atrocity crimes.”
Broad Restrictions On Food, Essential Goods
Gaza’s Hamas-run government media office said in a statement that the partial easing announced on July 27 has not lifted broad restrictions on food and other essential goods.
The office said that banned items include “frozen meat of all kinds, frozen fish, cheese, dairy products, frozen vegetables, and fruits,” along with “hundreds of other items needed by the starving and sick.”
The office said that Israel is blocking the entry of more than 430 food items into the territory, despite allowing some aid trucks through last month under international pressure.
The statement added that Israel had directly targeted food sources, by not just preventing aid, but deliberately bombing 44 food banks, killing dozens of workers in them, and targeting “57 food distribution centers with bombardment.”
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