Joint appeal says “unimaginable” humanitarian situation in Gaza requires urgent action.
Italy on Tuesday joined 25 other countries and the European Commission in signing an urgent appeal to the Israeli authorities to grant unrestricted aid into the war-torn Gaza Strip.
The joint appeal, signed by foreign ministers from most EU member states along allies including Canada and the UK, calls on Israel to ensure that humanitarian workers and NGOs can safely continue their efforts to distribute food to the civilian population in Gaza.
Famine
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached “unimaginable levels”, the appeal said, adding: “Famine is unfolding before our eyes. Urgent action is needed now to halt and reverse starvation.”
“All crossings and routes must be used to allow a flood of aid into Gaza, including food, nutrition supplies, shelter, fuel, clean water, medicine and medical equipment”, the statement said, calling for civilians, aid workers and medical staff to be protected, and for “lethal force” not to be used at supply distribution sites.
The joint statement was signed by the foreign ministers of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.
Farnesina
The Italian ministry of foreign affairs states on its website: “In recent weeks, in various contacts with the Israeli government, Italy had already called for opening to aid and had committed itself to redoubling its efforts in favour of the most vulnerable segments of the population in the Gaza Strip.”
Last weekend Italy began to airdrop 100 tons of humanitarian aid into Gaza as part of a week-long mission coordinated by the Italian defence ministry.
In an interview with La Stampa newspaper on Monday, Italian defence minister Guido Crosetto said that Israel’s government has “lost reason and humanity” over Gaza, adding: “What is happening is unacceptable.”
Photo credit: Anas-Mohammed / Shutterstock.com.
