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LAST UPDATE | 7 May
THE EUROPEAN UNION’S top diplomat Kaja Kallas has offered Israel assistance in its plan to take over the distribution of aid in the Gaza Strip, a move that appears to endorse the Israeli government’s attacks on UN agencies working in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Kallas said that she had brought up the plan for EU involvement in handing out aid during a call with her Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar yesterday, which would also go against Ireland’s stated position of supporting UN agencies in Palestine.
“I offered also help by the European Union to distribute the humanitarian aid if they don’t trust the other actors there,” she told journalists at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Warsaw.
Kallas’ statement comes on the same day that UN aid officials condemned Israel’s proposed plan for its military to take over the distribution of aid in Gaza.
“It appears to be a deliberate attempt to weaponise the aid and we have warned against that for a very long time. Aid should be provided based on humanitarian need to whomever needs it,” said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for UN aid coordination office, OCHA.
“Israeli officials have sought to shut down the existing aid system run by 15 UN agencies and 200 NGOs and partners,” Laerke said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last year called the UN an “antisemitic swamp” while Israeli officials have taken aim at UN agencies throughout the war, particularly the main aid agency in Palestine, UNRWA.
Kallas’ revelation also came following a joint statement from six European countries, including Ireland, that demanded Israel lift its siege and pull back from plans to intensify attacks in Gaza and occupy the territory indefinitely.
The EU’s chief diplomat has also apparently contradicted a joint statement issued on her behalf earlier today, along with commissioners Dubravka Šuica and Hadja Lahbib, which raised concerns about Israel’s plans regarding aid distribution.
“The EU is also concerned about the new ‘Gaza aid delivery mechanism’ reportedly approved by the Israeli security cabinet on 4 May, which runs counter to humanitarian principles, as underlined by UN agencies and humanitarian partners,” the statement read.
“The mechanism would shift the responsibility for the distribution of aid to non-humanitarian international actors and private security contractors.
“Our message is clear: humanitarian aid must never be politicised or militarised. Using aid as a tool of war is prohibited under International Humanitarian Law.”
The joint statement from Tánaiste Simon Harris and foreign ministers from Iceland, Luxembourg, Norway, Slovenia and Spain condemned Israel’s plans for a prolonged occupation of Gaza and rejects the prospect of any measure that would forcibly displace the population.
Community kitchens and bakeries in Gaza have been forced to close because of the blockade and what little medical care is still available has been put under even further strain.
The group of European ministers said that Israel’s plan “would mean crossing yet another line, marking a dangerous new escalation and jeopardizing any prospects of a viable two-state solution”.
They said that further military escalation in Gaza “will only exacerbate an already catastrophic situation for the civilian Palestinian population and threaten the lives of the hostages that remain in captivity”.
We firmly reject any demographic or territorial change in Gaza, including any scheme that would force or facilitate the permanent displacement of its population, which would be in violation of international law.
“We also strongly oppose a system that does not ensure that the entire population gets access to humanitarian aid. Gaza is an integral part of the State of Palestine, which belongs to the Palestinian people.”
The ministers noted that Israeli authorities have blocked all humanitarian aid and commercial supplies from reaching the civilian Palestinian population in Gaza for more than two months.
“Despite repeated calls on Israel to lift these measures and to facilitate relief, Israel has instead further tightened, rather than eased, the measures,” they said, adding: “We call on Israel to immediately lift the blockade. It is essential to facilitate relief for all civilians in need, without discrimination, and to follow the other humanitarian principles of impartiality, independence and neutrality.”
They called on Israel to “show restraint” and to “take all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay, in full cooperation with the United Nations and humanitarian organisations, the unhindered provision at scale of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance”.
What is needed more urgently than ever is a resumption of a ceasefire, and the unconditional release of all hostages.
“We reaffirm our unwavering support for the two-state solution — Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security,” the ministers concluded.
Alongside Simon Harris, the signatories of the statement are Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iceland; Xavier Bettel, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of Luxembourg; Espen Barth Eide, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Norway; Tanja Fajon, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovenia; and José Manuel Albares Bueno, Minister for Foreign Affairs, EU and Cooperation of Spain.
This afternoon, a group of more than 20 UN experts said countries were at a moral crossroads over their response to Israel’s escalation of hostilities and ongoing siege of Gaza.
States face a choice between acting to halt the violence and looking on at “the annihilation of the Palestinian population” in the territory, the experts said.
“The decision is stark: remain passive and witness the slaughter of innocents or take part in crafting a just resolution,” they said in a statement, urging the world to avert the “moral abyss we are descending into”.
The most recent Israeli strikes on Gaza have killed at least 59 people, according to hospital officials.
Overnight, Israel attacked a school building that was sheltering hundreds of displaced Palestinians, killing 27 people, including nine women and three children.
It was the fifth time this particular school building has been struck since October 2023.
Additionally, a strike early this morning on another school building being used as a shelter killed 16 people.
Strikes in other areas killed at least 16 more people.
With reporting from David Mac Redmond and AFP
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