“According to the UN mission, Israel is violating international law by continuing restrictions on humanitarian aid to Gaza, where the population continues to experience acute shortages of food and basic necessities as winter approaches.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Gaza Strip, illustrative photo: AFP Source: Deputy Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Natalie Buckley, quoted by The Guardian
Details: According to Buckley, the whole world, including the EU and the US, should increase pressure on the Israeli government to ensure the unhindered flow of aid to Gaza.
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Buckley said UNRWA has enough food, tents and other essentials to fill up to 6,000 trucks.
Direct speech Bookley: “With winter approaching and hunger continuing among the population, it is extremely important that all this aid is allowed into Gaza without delay.
Our stockpiles would be able to feed… the entire population for about three months. But it is outside in Jordan and Egypt and cannot be delivered.”
Details: According to her estimates, only about half, “if not less”, of the 500-600 trucks needed each day reach the devastated area.
Buckley said that Israel, as an occupying power, “does not comply with international humanitarian law and international human rights law,” citing the Fourth Geneva Convention, as well as a recent advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, which states that Israel must provide the population of the Occupied Palestinian Territory with “goods necessary for daily life.”
Israel severed diplomatic relations with UNRWA, accusing this organization of ties to Hamas.
Buckley said she had received no indication that Israel was going to change its policy of denying contact with the agency.
Direct speech Buckley: “Now is not the time to collapse UNRWA. We are irreplaceable because no one can take over our responsibilities.”
Details: In Brussels, she was to discuss with EU representatives, among other topics, the agency’s $200 million funding shortfall through March.
Direct speech Buckley: “We were supposed to be temporary. The only reason we’re here is the collective failure of the international community to find a political solution to this conflict.”
Details: She argued that European governments should exert “a different kind of moral pressure on Israel … convincing them of the need for a reconciliation process, that military force will not ensure a life in peace.”