EU Urges Israel to Allow International NGOs to Operate in Gaza Strip

JAKARTA - The European Union on Tuesday called on Israel to allow international NGOs to provide life-saving assistance to civilians in Palestine, warning that aid could not reach the scale needed in the Gaza Strip without them.

The insistence of senior EU officials is due to the fact that the humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate, along with the arrival of winter conditions and aid agencies facing restrictions on their ability to operate.

In a joint statement, the head of the European Union's Foreign Policy Kaja Kallas, along with commissioners Hadja Lahbib and Dubravka Suica, said civilians in Gaza are facing increasingly deteriorating conditions, with heavy rain, decreasing temperatures, and a lack of safe shelters, as reported by Anadolu (7/1).

They also said children were still not going to school and medical facilities were "barely functioning, with minimal staff and equipment."

The European Council also highlighted the urgent need for humanitarian assistance to reach Gaza. The Council stressed, "the need for rapid, safe, and unhindered deliveries and the sustainable distribution of humanitarian assistance, on a large scale, to and throughout Gaza."

The Council also urged Israel not to continue implementing laws governing the registration of non-governmental organizations.

The joint statement said the EU called on Israel "to allow international NGOs to operate and provide life-saving assistance to civilians in need in Palestine."

Officials warned that restrictions on international aid organizations would have serious consequences.

"Without these international NGOs, humanitarian assistance cannot be provided on the scale needed to prevent further loss of life in Gaza," the statement said.

They added that effective aid delivery requires international NGOs to work in a "sustainable and predictable" manner, warning that without such access, "life-saving assistance cannot reach those in need."

It is known that since the ceasefire agreement was implemented, the Israeli army has committed hundreds of violations, killing 422 Palestinians and injuring 1,189 others, according to the Ministry of Health.

The ceasefire halted Israel's two-year war that has killed nearly 71,400 Palestinians, mostly women and children, wounded more than 171,200 others since October 2023, and left the territory in ruins.