The European Union wants to see more concrete steps from Israel to actually improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza. This was stated by EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas after the meeting of EU foreign ministers. They did not agree on any additional measures.
Kallas agreed with Israel last week that the country would allow significantly more humanitarian aid into Gaza. This is in addition to the aid being provided through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The agreement came after research showed that Israel is currently violating the human rights provisions of the association agreement with the EU.
According to the foreign affairs chief, Israel has now made some improvements, but the situation in Gaza is still “very bad.” The EU is therefore keeping a “close eye” on the situation, Kallas said. But extra measures will remain off the table for the time being.
Kallas previously reported that she had drawn up a list of options for the EU, from suspending the association agreement to removing trade benefits. If Israel does not quickly ensure that the humanitarian situation in Gaza improves, the member states can impose one or more measures from that list on Israel.
The fact that the list is still standing is a win, according to outgoing Minister Caspar Veldkamp (Foreign Affairs).
‘Hardly any structural improvement’
European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid Hadja Lahbib also sees a slight improvement in the supply of aid to Gaza. But she emphasizes that Israel is (still) not adhering to the agreement made. Veldkamp even mentioned an increase in the number of trucks entering Gaza on Monday. But organizations refute that claim.
“While Brussels is talking about ‘movement’ and numbers of trucks, we hear from our teams on the ground that access to aid is still severely limited,” says Deniz Dönmez, spokesperson for aid organization CARE Netherlands.
“Even if a few trucks are allowed through, distribution points remain closed and fuel is scarce. We also see hardly any structural improvement via Egypt and Jordan,” he continues.
Number of trucks does not come close to the recommended amount
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty says via news agency Reuters that nothing has indeed changed for the people in Gaza. His Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi claims that Israel allowed forty to fifty trucks from Jordan some time ago. According to Safadi, that is “hardly sufficient.”
COGAT, the Israeli agency that oversees deliveries to the Palestinian Territories, says on X that more than 11,000 tons of flour and food have been allowed in in the past two weeks. This amount is in addition to the aid being provided via the GHF.
That 11,000 tons amounts to roughly ten trucks per day. That is far below the daily number of six hundred recommended by aid organizations.
UN organization UNRWA states that it has more than six thousand truckloads of aid ready, but that they are not allowed into Gaza. COGAT says on X that the UN and other international aid organizations are not doing enough to collect the aid already delivered at the distribution points in Gaza.