Belgian minister urges Israel to allow Palestinians to receive more 'unhindered' humanitarian aid

By Selen Valente

BRUSSELS (AA) - A Belgian minister urged Israel to allow Palestinians to receive more "unhindered humanitarian assistance."

"We know the humanitarian needs are unimaginable. So we need more humanitarian access, through Rafah, through Kerem Shalom, but also to areas in the north, to reach people who are in desperate need of food, water, medical supplies, hygiene kits," Development Cooperation Minister Caroline Gennez told Anadolu.

She called on Israel to allow more humanitarian access, saying, "Well, let's be honest, we need a cessation of violence. We need more unhindered humanitarian access to Rafah, Kerem Shalom, Karni, Erez, and the port of Ashdod. This is a message to the Israeli government."

Gennez added Belgium was not in agreement with Israel regarding the aid dropped from the air.

"We need coordination. We need to work with them. But we will focus on the north of Gaza because there are many needs and very little humanitarian aid available," she explained, regretting that barely 100 trucks per day can enter Gaza to deliver food, compared to 500 trucks per day on an ordinary day before Oct. 7.

"People are starving, people are wounded. Babies are dying because they don't have any water," Gennez stressed, describing the situation as a "disaster."

"And everything that we can do, we will continue to do but it's very clear that the air is the last resort," the Belgian minister noted.

Israel has launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. The ensuing Israeli bombardment has killed at least 30,631 people and injured 72,043 others with mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Nur Asena Erturk in Ankara