European Union foreign policy chief Kaya Kallas announced Thursday that she and Israel had agreed on "important steps" to improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and increase daily aid supplies.
"Following constructive dialogue between the European Union and Israel, Israel has agreed to significant steps to improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip," Kallas said in a statement, adding that "these measures will be implemented in the coming days."
The European official spoke of "a shared understanding on the need to deliver (humanitarian) aid on a large scale directly to the Palestinians, and to continue taking measures to ensure that aid is not diverted to" the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), she said.
She explained that "these steps include, among other things, a significant increase in the number of daily trucks carrying food and non-food supplies entering Gaza." They also include "opening several additional crossings in both the northern and southern regions, and reopening routes for Jordanian and Egyptian aid."
Since March 2, Israel has closed Gaza's crossings to aid trucks piled up at the border, allowing only a few dozen trucks into the Strip, while Palestinians in the Strip need at least 500 trucks per day.
Distribution of supplies
Callas confirmed that "the distribution of food supplies through bakeries and public kitchens throughout the Gaza Strip will be enabled, and fuel deliveries will resume for use by humanitarian facilities."
Since last May, Tel Aviv has implemented a mechanism to distribute aid to Gaza, independent of the United Nations. This mechanism has resulted in the deaths of 773 Palestinians and the injury of more than 5,101 others by Israeli army fire while they waited for aid, according to the Ministry of Health on Wednesday.
Measures also include "protecting aid workers, and repairing and facilitating vital infrastructure, such as resuming electricity supplies to the desalination plant," Callas said.
"The European Union stands ready to coordinate with all relevant humanitarian actors, UN agencies, and NGOs working on the ground, to ensure the rapid implementation of these urgent steps," Kallas said.
Mediation efforts
The European official reiterated the EU's call for "an immediate ceasefire and the release of all remaining hostages." She also expressed support for "the efforts of Egypt, Qatar, and the United States as mediators."
Since last Sunday, indirect negotiations have been underway in Qatar between Hamas and Israel in a renewed attempt to conclude a prisoner exchange and ceasefire agreement, mediated by Egypt and Qatar and supported by the United States.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel, with American support, has been committing genocide in Gaza, including killing, starvation, destruction, and displacement, ignoring international calls and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt it.
This war left more than 195,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, in addition to hundreds of thousands of displaced persons, and a famine that claimed the lives of many, including children.
شارك برأيك
European-Israeli agreement on the humanitarian situation in Gaza