UK urges Israel to ensure unhindered aid to Gaza

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) – A British minister on Monday renewed her appeal to the Israeli government to take steps ensuring unimpeded aid access to Gaza amid the "catastrophic situation."

International Development Minister Anneliese Dodds expressed deep concern over the desperate need for food and shelter in Gaza as winter approaches, urging Israel to "immediately act" to address the crisis.

Dodds made the remarks ahead of her three-day visit to the region, where she will attend a humanitarian conference in Cairo later Monday. The conference, in Egypt's capital, aims to bring international partners together to discuss urgent measures to alleviate suffering in Gaza.

"The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. Gazans are in desperate need of food and shelter with the onset of winter," she said in a statement released by the Foreign Office.

She said that the Cairo conference would serve as an opportunity to convene influential voices and propose real-world solutions to the humanitarian crisis.

"Israel must immediately act to ensure unimpeded aid access to Gaza," said Dodds, adding that she plans to meet with counterparts in both Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) to address removing these impediments, achieving a cease-fire, freeing hostages, and pursuing a lasting solution to the conflict.

The Foreign Office announced that Dodds will unveil £19 million ($24.1 million) in funding for Gaza, including £12 million ($15.2 million) allocated to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the World Food Program (WFP).

The UK has pledged £99 million ($125.7 million) to the OPTs this financial year, "providing vital services to civilians in Gaza and the West Bank delivered through partner agencies," according to the Foreign Office statement.

Israel has launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack last year, killing over 44,400 people, most of them women and children, and injuring over 104,700.

The onslaught has displaced nearly the entire population of the enclave, with a deliberate blockade causing severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, pushing residents to the brink of starvation.

International organizations and aid groups warn that, beyond the immediate threats to hundreds of thousands in northern Gaza, the entire population of Gaza – over 2 million people – faces famine due to Israel’s continuing relentless attacks and strict blockade.