ISRAEL’S continued blockade of Gaza, which prevents the flow of aid into the territory, has caused “critical risk of famine”, according to a report published on Monday by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification.
A representative for the Roman Catholic aid agency CAFOD, Elizabeth Funnell, said that families were starving while aid routes remain blocked by Israeli authorities.
“There must be an immediate end to the blockade on Gaza and the sustained unfettered delivery of aid at scale to those in desperate need — and in line with humanitarian principles. The international community must act now — every hour of delay costs lives.”
Aid agencies have also joined other NGOs in condemning new rules introduced by the Israeli government, saying that the changes are an attempt to limit their activities in the region.
Last week, a joint statement by 55 international NGOs, including Christian Aid and the Quaker American Friends Service Committee, was published. It says that under new rules, NGOs already registered in Israel “may face deregistration, while new applicants risk rejection based on arbitrary, politicised allegations, such as ‘delegitimising Israel’ or expressing support for accountability for Israeli violations of international law.”
The new rules were introduced in March, and the signatories to the letter characterise them as part of a “broader, long-term crackdown on humanitarian and civic space, marked by heightened surveillance and attacks, and a series of actions that restrict humanitarian access, compromise staff safety, and undermine core principles of humanitarian action”.
The letter from the NGOs, which include Oxfam, CARE International, and Médecins Sans Frontières, also highlights the killing of more than 400 humanitarian workers in Gaza, and attempts to restrict the operations of the UN agency working in the occupied territories.