Swedish minister ‘deeply concerned’ over worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Sweden's minister for international development cooperation and foreign trade expressed "deep concern" Wednesday over the dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, warning of an impending famine.

"Urgent improvements in humanitarian access are crucial to facilitate safer, faster and more extensive deliveries of lifesaving aid," Johan Forssell said in a statement released by the Swedish Foreign Ministry.

His remarks came after a meeting with Foreign Ministry representatives in Israel that was attended by ambassadors from European Union countries and other parties which conveyed the urgent need to improve humanitarian access to Gaza.

"It was therefore a natural step for Sweden to take the initiative to convey a message together with other EU member states and international partners: Israel must ensure safe and unhindered humanitarian access, which is an obligation under international humanitarian law," noted Forssell.

"Sweden and the EU will continue to push for this," he added.

Last month, Sweden met with backlash over its decision to suspend financial support to the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees, or UNRWA, due to allegations by Tel Aviv that some of its staff members were involved in the Palestinian group Hamas’s Oct. 7 military operation against Israel.

Several countries suspended their funding to UNRWA following Israeli accusations that 12 of the agency's thousands of employees took part in the Oct. 7 attack.

The agency is investigating the claims but has warned that cutting off funding risks a catastrophe.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, which Tel Aviv said killed nearly 1,200 people.

More than 30,700 Palestinians have since been killed and over 72,000 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

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 (ICJ). 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.