EU demands Israel grant ‘immediate, unimpeded’ aid to Gaza amid winter flooding

BRUSSELS, Belgium — The European Union on Saturday demanded that Israel grant urgent access for aid groups to the Gaza Strip to help the victims of flooding after heavy rains soaked tens of thousands of tents housing displaced Palestinians in recent weeks.

“The severe flooding and winter conditions that have struck Gaza are further aggravating the living conditions of an already exhausted population, exacerbating unsafe conditions and human suffering,” the EU said in a statement, a day after over 50 countries and organizations issued a letter demanding Israel let more winter supplies into Gaza.

“We urge Israel to allow immediate, unimpeded access and sustained distribution of humanitarian assistance and early recovery support at scale, and to reopen all Gaza border crossings,” it said.

Last week, COGAT, the Israeli body that coordinates aid to Palestinians, said that it had stepped up efforts to improve sanitary conditions in Gaza before the heavy rain, in coordination with international organizations. It said Friday that more than 93,000 tents and 8,600 trucks carrying “winter supplies and other essential equipment” had entered Gaza.

Israel has said that allegations that COGAT is not allowing in enough supplies “divert attention from Hamas’s responsibility.”

Hamas municipal and civil defense officials have said they were unable to cope with the storm because of fuel shortages and damage to equipment. They said Israel had destroyed hundreds of vehicles, including bulldozers and others used to pump water, during the war, and Israel has since barred the entry of construction equipment throughout the ceasefire.

Israel is reportedly continuing to refuse entry of so-called dual-use items,  which it says can be exploited or weaponized by Hamas and other terror groups in the Strip.

“Israel must enable the work of the UN and its agencies, and humanitarian organizations including NGOs, and comply with all its obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law,” the EU statement added.

“We recall that aid should be solely used for peaceful uses and not diverted by armed groups,” the statement said, alluding to Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups, which have been accused by international organizations and by Israel of stealing aid and selling it to civilians for profit.

Israel said this week that “the IDF and COGAT have approved more than 850 requests covering tens of thousands of trucks, carrying winter-specific supplies: shelter, water, sanitation, and healthcare.”

The military said that around half of the approved requests have not yet been carried out, because “the UN and international organizations have yet to transfer the requested equipment into the Strip, partly due to logistical and budgetary challenges unrelated to Israel.”

The EU noted that “a year since the ceasefire was announced, military strikes continue,” lamenting the “shortages of essential items, including suitable shelter, medicine and medical equipment, caused by the existing access restrictions,” which have resulted in “the absence of acceptable and dignified living conditions.”

The EU said that it “reaffirms its commitment to the two-state solution” and called on “all actors” to comply with international law and the provisions of UN Security Council resolution 2803, which endorsed the US-backed Board of Peace’s ceasefire and Gaza peace plan.

The statement stressed the particular importance of complying with the Board of Peace’s provisions for “the permanent decommissioning of weapons from Hamas and other non-state armed groups, the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the civilian transition in Gaza.”

“Hamas should not have any role in the future governance of Gaza,” the EU statement concluded.

Talks on reaching a diplomatic resolution that would see Hamas disarm and Israel pull out its forces have stalled in recent months, and Board of Peace officials indicated they expected little progress before Israel’s national election, which was held on October 27, and has so far not produced a government.