EU urges Israel to open more land humanitarian corridors in Gaza |

The European Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic, warned this Thursday that shipments of humanitarian aid by air and, now, by sea to Gaza “are not enough” to avoid an “imminent famine” that has already cost the lives of at least two dozen Gazan minors. Therefore, he has urged Israel to allow more land humanitarian corridors, the delivery of more aid shipments and also guarantee the safe distribution of essential goods to the Palestinian civilian population.

The demand does not come only from Brussels: at the same time, in Strasbourg, the European Parliament has approved a resolution demanding from the Government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “permanent ceasefire” and that humanitarian access be guaranteed “full, rapid, safely and unhindered to the entire Gaza Strip,” with a special emphasis on the “uninterrupted supply of essential products such as fuel, food, water, medical supplies and shelter.” The non-binding resolution also calls for the “immediate restoration of vital infrastructure,” especially to “prevent the risk of catastrophic hunger and starvation.”

And ahead of the meeting of the heads of State and Government of the EU next week in Brussels, several States also want a reference to humanitarian land corridors to appear in the conclusions of the European Council – which are still being discussed. according to diplomatic sources.

Netanyahu has indirectly responded to the issue by addressing troops during a visit to a military base. “As you prepare to continue fighting, there is international pressure to prevent us from entering Rafah and completing the job. As Prime Minister of Israel, I reject that pressure. We have been doing it successfully for five months now. It is a record time in the history of Israel’s wars. I will continue to reject this pressure. We will enter Rafah,” he said regarding the southern Gaza area, where more than a million displaced people are concentrated and whom the army intends to forcibly move to a kind of unspecified “humanitarian islands” before invading it.

For Lenarcic, who on Monday will lead a humanitarian conference in Brussels in which the EU will commit 1.8 billion euros to help cover the “multiple humanitarian crises” in the world, the critical situation in Gaza requires immediate Israeli action: “It needs an increase of humanitarian aid and its distribution in Gaza,” the European Commissioner summarized. To achieve this, he insisted, “the most efficient thing” is for Israel to “open additional land border posts, so that more trucks can arrive,” because although air shipments are already being made and the imminent arrival of the first aid ship leaving Cyprus is expected, , “nothing can replace the land routes that must be expanded to prevent imminent famine” among the Gazan population.

25 NGOs call for a ceasefire

Lenarcic has indicated that there are “very strong and credible” indications regarding the existence of “pockets” of famine in the Strip and has recalled that the World Health Organization reported the death of at least two dozen minors due to hunger in Gaza, while The UN has warned that half a million people are on the brink of starvation.

For this reason, 25 NGOs that operate in Gaza, such as Oxfam, the French section of Doctors of the World, Action Aid and Doctors Without Borders, have released a joint statement this Thursday in which they point out that “the only way to respond to the unprecedented humanitarian needs in the Strip is to achieve an immediate and permanent ceasefire, and ensure full, safe and unimpeded humanitarian access through all land routes.”

According to these NGOs, “States cannot hide behind airdrops and efforts to open a sea corridor to create the illusion that they are doing enough to respond to the needs in Gaza.” This is an opinion increasingly shared in Brussels, where foreign ministers will meet on Monday to also discuss the situation in Gaza, including the proposal by Spain and Ireland to “review” the Association Agreement with Israel.

Diplomatic sources warn, however, that there are some countries clearly opposed to this idea and that others want to have more details of what they want to review before making a statement. What there is consensus on is the need to increase aid to Gaza, especially by land, since air and sea launches are above all “symbolic gestures,” according to the sources consulted.

The maritime corridor was inaugurated this Tuesday, when the ship of the Spanish NGO Open Arms left Cyprus, which is towing a platform loaded with almost 200 tons of food aid for Gaza from another organization, World Central Kitchen (WCK). This Thursday, WCK, founded by Spanish chef José Andrés, reported that it is already stowing a second ship in the Cypriot port of Larnaca with 300 tons of food aid, such as legumes, canned tuna, rice and flour, although without specifying when. the ship will be able to sail.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army began a pilot project this Thursday in which six UN trucks entered directly to the north, where the situation is most extreme. Brussels applauds this gesture and says it hopes it is the beginning of a change in attitude. “We hope that this route will be expanded to allow an increase in humanitarian aid,” said Lenarcic, who has insisted on the need for a substantive “increase” in humanitarian aid that actually reaches the civilian population of Gaza.

Lenarcic participated on Wednesday on behalf of the European Commission in a virtual ministerial conference with representatives of the United States, Cyprus, the United Kingdom, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to “advance plans to open a maritime corridor” for humanitarian assistance to Gaza. Opening the port of Ashdod – one of Israel’s main cargo ports – to humanitarian aid would be a “significant and welcome addition” to the maritime corridor, they stressed. However, as Lenarcic did a day later, the ministers agreed that “there is no effective substitute for land routes via Egypt and Jordan and the entry points from Israel into Gaza.”

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