By Merve Berker
ANKARA (AA) – A total of 25 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in Gaza have called on governments worldwide to deliver humanitarian aid to the Strip by land, Amnesty International said on Wednesday.
“States cannot hide behind airdrops and efforts to open a maritime corridor to create the illusion that they are doing enough to support the needs in Gaza,” the group emphasized, adding: “Their primary responsibility is to prevent atrocity crimes from unfolding and apply effective political pressure to end the relentless bombardment and the restrictions which prevent the safe delivery of humanitarian aid.”
People in the region have been “surviving with crisis-level hunger” for over five months, the organization indicated, adding it is the “largest proportion of any population in food security crisis ever recorded by the Integrated Food Security and Nutrition Phase Classification (IPC).”
It also criticized the capacity of airdrops, saying: “While a convoy of five trucks has the capacity to carry about 100 tons of lifesaving assistance, recent airdrops delivered only a few tons of aid.”
“Airdrops can also be extremely dangerous to the lives of civilians seeking aid: there have already been reports of at least five persons killed from free-falling aid packages in Gaza,” it noted.
It is essential for aid deliveries to be person-centered, enabling accurate evaluation of the affected individuals' requirements while also revitalizing hope and dignity among a population already grappling with trauma and despair, it warned.
“After enduring five months of continuous bombardments and dehumanizing conditions, children, women and men in Gaza have the right to more than meager charity dropped from the sky,” it underlined.
- Arms sales to Israel
In addition, the group recalled that some states, “namely the US, UK and France,” are still providing arms to Israeli forces.
“States cannot leverage aid to circumvent their international responsibilities and duties under international law, including the prevention of atrocity crimes,” it pointed out.
The group urged these states to “halt all arms transfers that risk being used in international crimes, as well as implement meaningful measures to enforce an immediate cease-fire, unrestricted humanitarian access and accountability for perpetrators.”
Recalling the efforts to open a maritime corridor from Cyprus, “including the establishment of a floating port on Gaza shore that will not be fully operational before several weeks,” the group said: “Families are starving and can't wait for infrastructure to be built. Immediate access for humanitarian trucks carrying food and medicine to Gaza is essential to save lives.”
“Furthermore, shipments from this dock to distribution points across Gaza will encounter similar challenges to aid convoys from Rafah,” the group warned.
These include ongoing insecurity, frequent access denials by Israeli forces, and prolonged waits at Israeli checkpoints, it said.
- Immediate cease-fire
The organization also noted that its creation alone won't significantly alter the dire humanitarian situation unless paired with an immediate cease-fire and unrestricted access throughout Gaza.
“States must ensure that the maritime corridor does not legitimize a prolonged Israeli ground military occupation of the strip by instrumentalizing the necessity of aid delivery,” it said.
“We reiterate that an immediate and permanent cease-fire is the only condition to allow for the colossal increase in the flow of humanitarian aid needed to alleviate the suffering of 2.3 million people in the Gaza Strip.”
Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by the Palestinian group Hamas in which nearly 1,200 people were killed.
More than 31,272 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and over 73,024 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.
Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Palestinian enclave, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, at least 27 people have died of malnutrition and dehydration in Gaza as a result of the Israeli blockade.
The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most 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.