A humanitarian air bridge between the European Union and the Gaza Strip will be established in the coming hours, the Commission President announced shortly after the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the world is about to witness a human catastrophe if nothing is done happens. is being done by the Palestinian population, who for days has not had access to the essential goods they depend on from abroad.
So far, Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has refused to provide any assistance, despite international calls to do so. They have also resumed bombing the area near the Rafah crossing, the only border between Gaza and Egypt, which has remained closed while the ground was prepared for a larger offensive. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned to Israel to reaffirm support for that country, although President Joe Biden the day before warned Israel’s emergency government against being tempted to occupy the territory it threatens to invade.
“Palestinians in Gaza need humanitarian aid. That’s why we’re launching a humanitarian air corridor with Gaza through Egypt. The first two flights will depart this week and will bring humanitarian aid to Gaza,” Ursula von der Leyen announced in Tirana, Albania.
The Commission president – who visited Israel last Saturday – was criticized for failing to part the waters between Hamas and the Palestinians. The first two flights will carry UNICEF cargo, including medicines, shelter and hygiene items.
The announcement comes after the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Middle East (UNRWA) asked the EU to increase humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. “It is time to redouble the efforts of both the EU and its Member States, thinking not only about what is happening now, but also about the future,” Marta Lorenzo, director of UNRWA in Europe, told EFE. The Commission announced that it had tripled the amount of aid to civilians in Gaza to €75 million. WHO Regional Director Ahmed Al Mandhari was more emphatic. “According to the UN, the Red Cross and the Red Crescent, there are still 24 hours of water, electricity and fuel left. Then it will be a real catastrophe for all residents of the Gaza Strip.”
Without humanitarian aid, doctors will only be able to “draw out death certificates,” he also said of the siege of Gaza and its 2.3 million inhabitants, while authorities count more than 2,800 dead and around 10,000 injured. that more than a million people have left the north of the area after Israel’s warning.
The European initiative also follows a call from the foreign ministers of France and Egypt for humanitarian aid to reach Gaza, meaning European coordination with Cairo is expected to open the Rafah crossing. In this regard, Blinken had declared on Sunday that the border crossing would be opened, and the US Embassy in Jerusalem even told fellow citizens to approach Rafah. “The Israeli government has not taken a position that would allow the opening of the Rafah crossing on the Gaza side to allow the entry of aid supplies and the departure of citizens from third countries,” complained Sameh Shoukry, the Egyptian minister.
To unblock the situation, UN humanitarian coordinator Martin Griffiths has been in the Middle East since today. In parallel with Blinken’s diplomatic activities, the US also appointed a special envoy for aid to Gaza, David Satterfield. And the American president himself has paid special attention to the conflict. On Monday, Biden canceled a trip to the state of Colorado to participate in national security meetings. The 80-year-old Democrat was invited by Netanyahu to visit the country attacked by Hamas on the 7th, although it is not known whether he accepted. For the time being, he will receive the EU’s top leaders, Charles Michel and Von der Leyen, on Friday.
In an interview with CBS, Biden said it would be a “big mistake” if Israel occupied Gaza, while two Democratic congresswomen accused Tel Aviv of war crimes and “shameful” support from the US government.
Iran, a supporter of Hamas, reiterated the warning through President Ebrahim Raisi that the “spectrum of war and conflict” could be expanded “to other fronts,” in talks with its Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. He also said that time for a peaceful solution is running out.
The margin
Scholz in Tel Aviv
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is expected in Tel Aviv today. He is the first head of government to visit Israel since the attacks on the 7th and follows the travels of his government colleague Annalena Baerbock, the British Cleverly and the American Blinken.
Diplomatic initiatives
The Gulf Cooperation Council today brings together representatives from the organization’s six countries. Egypt announced a summit to discuss the “evolution and future of the Palestinian cause and the peace process” to take place in Cairo on Saturday.
Zelensky refused
According to the place Israeli Ynet and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wanted to accompany US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on his visit to Israel, but Tel Aviv refused to do so, saying “it was not the right time”.
Survivor advice
Auschwitz survivor Edith Bruck warns: “Revenge and retaliation are pointless, they only make the situation worse,” the 92-year-old writer said. El Pais, recalling that it welcomed five Hungarian fascists after liberation. “Nothing can be solved with hate.”
Source: DN
