Red Cross says Israeli aid blockade of Gaza ‘unacceptable,’ humanitarian situation on ‘razor’s edge’

The Red Cross has denounced the human cost of the war raging in Gaza, slamming Israel’s “unacceptable” full blockade on aid into the besieged and conflict-ravaged Palestinian territory.

Aid agencies have repeatedly warned of a growing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, which they say has been exacerbated by an Israeli blockade on all aid since early March.

“It is unacceptable that humanitarian aid is not allowed into the Gaza Strip,” Pierre Krahenbuhl, director general of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), tells reporters in Geneva.

“That’s just fundamentally against anything that international humanitarian law provides.”

The situation in Gaza is on a “razor’s edge” and “the next few days are absolutely decisive,” he adds.

“There’s a moment where we will also run out of anything that’s left in terms of medical supplies and other” aid, he says.

Israel denies a humanitarian crisis is unfolding in the Gaza Strip, where it plans to expand military operations to force Hamas to free hostages held there since the terror group’s unprecedented October 7, 2023, attack.

At the same time, officials have acknowledged that food is running low and that new supplies will need to be brought in soon. Israel is reportedly working on a new mechanism to supply aid in a manner that will prevent goods from being stolen by Hamas, as Israel has accused the terror group of diverting much of the aid that goes in.

“Right now, the most effective way to get aid to people is to lift… actions or decisions that were taken to prevent aid from reaching” inside Gaza, Krahenbuhl says.

“There are huge quantities of aid that are on the borders of Gaza that can go in tomorrow,” he insists.