Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has expressed strong displeasure upon discovering thousands of tons of essential aid meant for feeding starving Palestinians being held up in a warehouse. The aid, consisting of around 5,000 pallets totaling 4,000 metric tonnes of items like wheat flour, tinned goods, yeast, and sugar, is stranded at a World Food Programme (WFP) depot located outside Amman, Jordan due to restrictions imposed by Israel.
Despite there being sufficient aid in Jordan to dispatch 150 trucks daily into Gaza for three months, the main crossing from Jordan to the West Bank has been closed to goods vehicles by Israeli authorities. Ms. Cooper emphasized the urgency of the situation, stating that the wheat alone in the warehouse could sustain 700,000 people for a month, highlighting the plight of hungry children in Gaza.
Efforts to increase aid into Gaza have been hindered by limitations imposed by the Israeli government, with NGOs accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration of obstructing aid shipments and restricting access for charitable organizations. Ms. Cooper is leading a diplomatic initiative to bolster aid deliveries into Gaza, collaborating with the UN, allies, and a US-led coordinating committee to develop strategies for enhancing aid distribution.
With over a million people in Gaza requiring shelter before winter sets in, Ms. Cooper stressed the importance of expediting aid deliveries. She emphasized the need for immediate action to provide temporary shelter and aid kits to the affected population. Musonda Kasonde, deputy representative of operations at Unicef, described the situation in Gaza as desperate, particularly underscoring the urgent need for basic necessities like shoes and warm coats for children.
In light of the impending winter and the critical conditions in Gaza, stakeholders are urging Israel to lift restrictions promptly and facilitate the smooth flow of aid to alleviate the suffering of the vulnerable population.
