26 ministers warn of famine in Gaza, urge urgent action

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached “unimaginable levels”, Britain, Canada, Australia and several of their European allies said on Tuesday, calling on Israel to allow unrestricted aid into the war-torn Palestinian enclave.

“Famine is unfolding before our eyes. Urgent action is needed now to halt and reverse starvation,” the foreign ministers of 26 countries said in a joint statement.

“We call on the government of Israel to provide authorisation for all international NGO (non-governmental organisations) aid shipments and to unblock essential humanitarian actors from operating,” the statement said.

“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.”

Palestinian mother Amira Muteir holds her five-month-old baby Ammar, whom she says is wasting away from malnutrition, in Gaza City. File/Reuters

Israel has denied responsibility for hunger spreading in Gaza, accusing Hamas militants of stealing aid shipments, which Hamas denies. However, in response to a rising international uproar, Israel late last month announced steps to let more aid into the enclave, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas and announcing protected routes for aid convoys.

Western capitals, however, say much more aid is needed and some countries have started airdrops with aid over Gaza.

The statement was signed by the foreign ministers of 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 Britain.

The EU later on Tuesday sent an updated statement to include EU member states Italy and Latvia as signatories of the statement.

The EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, and two other members of the European Commission also signed the statement.

Some EU member countries, including Germany and Hungary, did not sign it.

The United Arab Emirates is continuing its humanitarian support for the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.

Today, the UAE conducted its 69th airdrop of aid under Operation Birds of Goodness, part of Operation Chivalrous Knight 3, in cooperation with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and with the participation of Germany, Italy, Belgium, and France.

The shipment included quantities of essential food supplies, prepared with the support of UAE-based charitable institutions and entities, to meet the needs of residents amid the difficult humanitarian conditions in the Strip.

In addition, 20 trucks loaded with approximately 500 tonnes of food supplies entered Gaza through land crossings, as part of the UAE’s ongoing efforts to secure vital supplies by land and air.

Egypt said it was working with fellow Gaza mediators Qatar and the United States to broker a 60-day truce, as part of a renewed push to end the Israel-Hamas war.

Raghad and her younger sister Mira hold on to their cooking pots as they wait to fill them with food, in Muwasi, on the outskirts of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. AP

Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty made the announcement at a press conference in Cairo, as two Palestinian sources told AFP that a senior Hamas delegation was due to meet Egyptian officials for talks on Wednesday.

Diplomacy aimed at securing an elusive ceasefire and hostage release deal in the 22-month-old war has stalled for weeks, after the latest round of negotiations broke down in July.

Abdelatty said that “we are working very hard now in full cooperation with the Qataris and Americans”, aiming for “a ceasefire for 60 days, with the release of some hostages and some Palestinian detainees, and the flow of humanitarian and medical assistance to Gaza without restrictions, without conditions”.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said Israel would let Palestinians leave the Gaza Strip, as the military prepares a broader offensive in the territory.

“Give them the opportunity to leave, first of all, to leave combat zones and generally to leave the territory, if they want,” Netanyahu told a televised interview.

“We will allow this, first of all, within Gaza during the fighting, and we will certainly allow them to leave Gaza as well,” added the Israeli premier, whose government has long tightly controlled Gaza’s borders.

Since the war began in Gaza, 184 Palestinian journalists have been killed, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.

Agencies