image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
Displaced Palestinians in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, gather to collect food donated by a charitable group before breaking the fast during Ramadan, March 14, 2024.
The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for the operation of all crossings leading to the Gaza Strip, in addition to the Rafah land crossing, in order to bring in humanitarian aid in sufficient quantities, “to avoid worsening the humanitarian situation there.”
Egypt welcomed the arrival of humanitarian aid to Gaza by sea for the first time, after the UAE announced the arrival of the first humanitarian aid ship to the coast of the Gaza Strip, carrying 200 tons of food and relief supplies, coming from Cyprus, in cooperation with the Global Central Kitchen Foundation.
In its statement, Cairo called on Israel to remove what it described as “obstacles and restrictions” to the entry of aid through land ports.
Over the past six months, aid has been arriving in Gaza, through the Rafah land crossing with Egypt, and the Kerem Shalom/Kerem Shalom crossing between Gaza and Israel, but in limited quantities, reaching a maximum during the truce last November, about 200 trucks per day. .
Egypt, along with several other countries, including the UAE, Jordan, France, the United States, and the Netherlands, participated in airdrops of humanitarian aid to various areas of the Gaza Strip.
The fastest and most effective way to get aid into the area is by land, but aid agencies say Israeli restrictions mean a small fraction of what is needed enters.
Israel says it welcomes the establishment of a sea corridor and is facilitating the transfer of aid to Gaza while its forces continue to fight Hamas.
The Palestinian presidency had warned of the Israeli government’s decision to carry out a military operation in Rafah and said that this decision meant “committing a new massacre and completing the crimes of displacement against the Palestinians.”
It called for the intervention of the American administration and the international community, and to assume their responsibilities to prevent such a dangerous military operation. Which will double the suffering of the Gazans, she said.
The United Nations and the United States have also warned that a large-scale attack in Rafah could be disastrous, but Israel has repeatedly indicated its “need” for such an operation, insisting that “Hamas cannot be completely removed from Gaza without targeting Rafah.”
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Friday that the United States needs to see a clear and implementable plan for any operation in Rafah, including how to keep civilians out of harm’s way, and we have not seen a plan yet.
This comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved plans for a military operation in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, where more than a million people displaced from other parts of Gaza reside.
He added that the army was preparing to evacuate civilians. The Israeli army said Thursday that it intends to transfer displaced Palestinians in Gaza to what it called “humanitarian islands” in the center of the Strip.
It is not clear what the “islands” will look like or how they will function, but the military has suggested providing aid and temporary housing. No time frame has been set yet regarding when the operation might take place.
As for the course of the negotiations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reduced the possibility of reaching a truce in Gaza after Hamas presented a “comprehensive vision” to the mediators. Netanyahu’s office said the proposals were “illogical.”
Hamas wants a permanent cessation of the war and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
image source, Reuters
The boats were used to push the barge loaded with food aid from the Open Arms ship to a dock designated for this purpose
Support UNRWA
Australia said on Friday it would resume funding to UNRWA, the main UN aid agency in Gaza. Australia and many other donors stopped funding two months ago when Israel accused some of its employees of involvement in the attack launched by Hamas on Israel on October 7.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the government’s own lawyers said UNRWA was “not a terrorist organisation”.
Canada, Sweden and the European Union have already said they will resume funding for UNRWA. But its largest donor, the United States, continues to freeze payments.
Wong urged Israel to allow more food into Gaza: “The World Food Program has informed the Australian government that there are significant food stocks outside Gaza’s borders, but there is no way to move them across the border into the Strip and deliver them at scale without Israel’s cooperation, and we are appealing for “Israel to allow more aid in now.”
Israel said that trucks loaded with aid crossed into Gaza without being distributed, and accused relief agencies of logistical failures.
The war began when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking 253 hostage. The Gaza Ministry of Health says more than 31,400 people have been killed in Gaza since then.
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