access for humanitarian aid to Gaza “must become sustainable very quickly”, says ICRC spokesperson

“We need this access” to humanitarian aid “becomes durable very quickly”estimated Thursday October 19 on franceinfo the spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Frédéric Joli, about the crossing point between theEEgypt and the Gaza Strip. Since the Hamas attack on Israel and the response ofEHebrew state, the Gazan population is deprived of supplies and humanitarian aid. L’EEgypt announced on Wednesday October 18 the opening of the Rafah crossing point to allow a humanitarian convoy to enter the territory.

“As soon as the point is open, the challenge will be prioritization, knowing that the most essential needs must be covered”, explains Frédéric Joli. The spokesperson mentions “the problem of infrastructure that must be put back into operation”in particular hospitals, but also seawater desalination units, “one of the main means of supplying drinking water to the Gaza Strip”. The lack of drinking water is indeed a priority for Frédéric Joli, who fears that the “mixture of wastewater and the little drinking water” as well as “promiscuity” increase the risk of epidemics.

The spokesperson thus pleads for a passage “persistent” For “compensate for shortages”A “pipeline” Who “supplies humanitarian organizations inside Gaza”. “If each time the opening of the passage is conditional on concerns other than humanitarian”he adds, “It will make the situation much more complicated.”