Food, warm clothes, sleeping bags and tents are just some of the many vital aid items essential for winter which I saw gathering dust waiting to enter Gaza.
When I recently travelled to Al-Arish, Egypt’s humanitarian hub, I saw thousands of trucks at a standstill near the border crossing, carrying items of lifesaving assistance which continue to be denied entry by Israel. Staff told me some of this aid, including items funded by the UK, had been waiting to enter Gaza for over six months.
I am therefore appalled, but sadly not surprised, that one week ago the humanitarian situation in Gaza reached a new and terrible benchmark. On November 8, the Famine Review Committee, issued a stark warning: areas of northern Gaza are likely facing imminent famine. This week at the UN, the UK chaired a briefing on their distressing report and reiterated calls for Israel to act now.
The UK has been calling out Israel’s aid restrictions since this government took office in July. Israel must meet all their legal obligations in Gaza, and humanitarian aid is also a moral necessity in the face of such a catastrophe.
This October saw the lowest levels of aid entering Gaza since the start of the conflict. It is unconscionable that civilians risk facing famine, when just miles away lifesaving aid funded by the international community waits at the border, unable to travel the final few miles.
From UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer down, this government has been very clear: there can be no excuses for Israel’s inaction on humanitarian assistance. Time has run out, and action is long overdue.
Civilians need shelter, warm clothes, and heating materials to protect them over winter. Israel must facilitate strong public health measures to prevent the outbreak or further spread of communicable diseases. The first phase of the polio vaccine rollout showed that deconfliction measures are possible, and we must see that repeated over winter.
Again and again civilians are displaced, with widespread stories of families uprooting and moving six, seven, some even ten times. Civilians deserve dignity and stability, but they are being driven from one area of disease and devastation straight to another.
In our engagements with Israeli counterparts, the UK continues to press the need for much more aid to enter, for better civilian protection, for hospitals and essential infrastructure to be able to function properly and for humanitarian workers to be able to work safely.
The passage of legislation on the UN agency UNRWA, that provides assistance to Palestinian refugees, risks jeopardizing the entire international humanitarian response in Gaza. Israel must abide by its legal obligations and ensure UNRWA can continue its lifesaving work.
No organization can replace or substitute UNRWA’s capacity to deliver aid in Gaza and across the region. It is why we lifted the funding pause on UNRWA and released £21m to support its humanitarian appeal in Gaza and its core mandate providing services to Palestine refugees in the Middle East.
I am committed to the UK playing a leading role in alleviating suffering in Gaza. It is why on my visit to Egypt, I announced £1m for WHO Egypt to help Egypt’s Ministry of Health support medically evacuated civilians from Gaza who are receiving care in Egypt. The UK’s funding to UKMed - a frontline humanitarian medical NGO - ensures they can run their field hospitals in Gaza, providing life and limb-saving treatment.
We continue to support trusted aid agencies on the ground. But these agencies can only work effectively if Israel enables them to and in all my engagement with my Israeli counterparts, I raise this.
The fighting must stop.
A resolution to this conflict has been a priority since day one of this Government.
Now more than ever, we need to see an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, the protection of civilians, much more aid entering Gaza, and a path to long-term peace and stability.
Alongside our partners, this government remains steadfast in our commitment to working towards these goals.
*Exclusive to Asharq Al-Awsat
