Germany says Israel is obliged under international law to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza

BERLIN

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stressed on Wednesday that Israel is legally obliged to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.

“I would like to make it clear here that there is an obligation under international law to provide humanitarian aid,” Baerbock said during a press conference at the German embassy in Beirut.

“The International Court of Justice has ordered interim legal protection that the Israeli government must ensure adequate delivery of essential goods and humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. This order is binding on Israel and on the government under international law,” she added, stressing that aid organizations “must be able to work in Gaza.”

Israel allowed only four of 66 planned humanitarian aid missions to northern Gaza in the first 20 days of October, while no food aid was allowed for 14 days, the Geneva-based UN Humanitarian Agency (OCHA) said earlier in the day.

Reporting a serious deterioration in humanitarian access, OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke revealed that Israeli authorities have rejected 28 requests and blocked seven others for coordinated aid movements to the Beit Hanoun, Jabalia and Beit Lahiya regions in northern Gaza .

“During the first two weeks of October, 85% of movements (aid attempts) were denied,” Laerke told Anadolu in a written response, highlighting the increasingly dire situation in northern Gaza.

During a visit on October 19, an OCHA team found extreme overcrowding in northern Gaza, with some displaced people forced to live in toilets due to a severe shelter shortage, Laerke said.

Laerke described a particularly challenging incident in which a joint team from the UN, an international NGO and the Palestine Red Crescent Society made nine attempts before finally reaching the Kamal Adwan and Al-Sahaba maternity hospitals on October 12, facing multiple rejections and obstacles from the Israeli side. forces.

The humanitarian crisis has worsened following Israel’s ground operations in Rafah, which dramatically reduced aid deliveries. “Across all entry points, the daily average of humanitarian truckloads in September (54) was only a third of what it was in April (165),” Laerke noted.

The distribution of the limited aid faces multiple obstacles, including damaged roads, forced displacement blocking key supply routes, rejected coordination requests, overcrowding and a lack of law and order.

“Gaza is also the most dangerous place in the world for the UN and its partners to operate,” Laerke stressed, citing the deaths of 300 colleagues and the bombing of warehouses.

He added that roads are damaged and littered with unexploded ordnance.

Despite these challenging circumstances, humanitarian workers are continuing their efforts to provide life-saving assistance to Palestinians in Gaza wherever possible, although the situation remains severely undersupplied and increasingly dangerous for aid workers, Laerke said.

The Israeli army has continued a devastating offensive on the Gaza Strip since Hamas attacked last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire.

More than 42,700 people, mostly women and children, have been killed and more than 100,300 others injured since then, according to local health authorities.

Israel’s assault on Gaza has displaced nearly the territory’s entire population amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice over its actions in Gaza.

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