UN agencies, including UNRWA (the UN agency for Palestinian refugees), must operate unhindered in the Gaza Strip, the source of a serious humanitarian crisis, the G7 leaders said. at the summit their final declaration published Friday evening.
“We urge all parties to facilitate the rapid and unhindered passage of humanitarian aid to civilians in need, particularly women and children, through all possible land and sea routes,” they said. underlined the heads of state and government of the G7.
They consider it “essential that the distribution networks of UNRWA and other UN organizations and agencies are fully capable of delivering aid to those who need it most, in order to fulfill their mandate effectively” .
UNRWA, which coordinates almost all aid to Gaza, found itself at the center of a diplomatic storm and on the verge of collapse after Israel in January accused a dozen of its 13,000 employees of Gaza to be involved in the deadly attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas which sparked the current war on October 7.
This led many countries, including the United States, the main donor, to abruptly suspend funding to the agency, threatening its efforts to deliver aid to Gaza, although several states have since resumed their efforts. payments.
American President Joe Biden and his “Group of 7” allies (Germany, France, Italy, United Kingdom, Canada, Japan) deplore the “unacceptable number” of civilians killed “on both sides” since October 7.
In this regard, they say they are “deeply concerned about the consequences on the civilian population of the ongoing ground operations in Rafah”, where the Israeli army launched on May 7 its ground offensive which it believes is essential to eliminate Hamas.
They ask Israel to “refrain” from launching a large-scale operation on this town bordering Egypt.
The G7 also reiterates its “full support” for the ceasefire plan put on the table on May 31 by Joe Biden, Israel’s main ally, which should allow the release of all Israeli hostages held in Gaza and “a significant increase in the flow of humanitarian aid”.
He renews his “call to Hamas to accept and implement fully and unambiguously” this plan which until then remained a dead letter, with the Israeli government and Hamas sticking to their positions.
The war was sparked on October 7 by the attack launched by Hamas from Gaza in southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count established from official Israeli data.
Of 251 people kidnapped, 116 are still held hostage in Gaza, of whom 41 are dead, according to the army.
In response, the Israeli army launched a large-scale offensive in Gaza that left 37,266 people dead, mostly civilians, according to data from the Health Ministry of the Hamas-led Gaza government.