The UN is concerned about the 2.4 million people, half of whom are children, currently stuck in Gaza. For the moment, Israel denies them access to water, electricity and fuel.
They are on the edge of “disaster”. The United Nations (UN) says it is very concerned about the fate of some 2.4 million Gazans, half of whom are children, isolated since the blockade imposed by Israel on October 9 in response to the deadly assault on Hamas. Their food reserves will soon be exhausted. This is why humanitarian aid, eagerly awaited by these populations, must intervene “earlier” Saturday October 21. “We are in extensive and advanced negotiations with all parties concerned to ensure that an aid operation in Gaza begins as quickly as possible”Martin Griffiths said on Friday, quoted by a spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Geneva.
Until then, this aid was impossible, due to diplomatic blockages and extensive damage on the roads. It was American President Joe Biden who, during his visit to Israel on Wednesday, managed to convince the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to give the green light. Franceinfo returns to this humanitarian aid in four questions.
1 What does this humanitarian aid consist of?
Provided by NGOs and States, it essentially consists of the delivery of trucks filled with food, medicines, water purifiers, hygiene products, blankets, etc. But, since the start of the conflict, the Vehicles and containers have accumulated at Al-Arich airport, in Egyptian Sinai, which has even reopened one of its landing strips to be able to receive everything. “We receive two to three aid planes per day, chartered by humanitarian agencies or states”details Ahmed Ali, head of the Egyptian Red Crescent, to AFP.
This aid includes that of the World Food Program (WFP), which transported 951 tonnes of food to the Egyptian border, according to a spokesperson for the program. He specifies that this quantity is enough to feed 488,000 people for a week. In addition, European countries, such as Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom, as well as Russia, have also announced financial, logistical and medical aid for Gaza.
2 What are the needs of the Gazan population?
The needs are multiple and urgent, according to the NGOs present in Gaza. Some neighborhoods have been completely razed and hundreds of thousands of people are left without water, food and electricity. Joe Biden claimed Wednesday to have negotiated with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi to “let up to 20 trucks cross”. However, this number is totally insufficient according to the UN and the World Health Organization (WHO), because it does not meet the needs of Gazans who, before the war, already depended for 60% on international food aid. The WHO’s emergency director (WHO) called the aid “drop of water in the ocean of needs”. “We would need 2,000 trucks”corrected Michael Ryan.
The situation inside Gaza is “more than catastrophic”worries Sara Alzawqari, spokesperson for Unicef. “Time is running out and the number of victims among children is increasing”, she added. In Gaza, stocks are now almost empty, after 13 days of war, she explains. “We have distributed almost all the aid we had inside Gaza”. “Equipment and medicines have also been provided to hospitals, but given the number of injured, hospital beds and essential medicines are lacking”, adds Sara Alzawqari. Gold, “time is running out and the number of victims among children is only increasing”she warns, the situation “gets worse by the minute”.
“We are striving to operate the only functioning water desalination plant whose capacity is very small.” because of fuel and power shortages now that Gaza’s only power plant is shut down, she continues. “Fuel is an absolute priority because (…) there is already no more” to power hospital generators as well as desalination plants and bakeries, underlines Doctor Richard Peeperkorn, head of the WHO Office in the occupied Palestinian territories.
3 How will the distribution of aid take place?
It is Egypt which will have to manage this aid, under the supervision of the UN, declared the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sameh Choukri, on the Al-Arabiya television channel, quoted by BFMTV. “It’s a huge logistical challenge”explains to Figaro Frédéric Joli, spokesperson for the Red Cross. “We must implement emergency humanitarian aid, deploy it throughout this territory despite the poor state of the roads, define access points for the populations, bring in qualified humanitarian personnel for relief in conflict situations armed.”
However, this aid is subject to conditions. “Israel will not prevent humanitarian aid from Egypt as long as it involves food, water and medicine for the civilian population in the southern Gaza Strip”assures in a press release the office of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel has also clarified that this aid will not pass through its territory until the hostages held by Hamas are released. This is also the reason why it will transit exclusively through Egypt. But “if Hamas seizes them, or does not let them pass (…) then it will be over”, warned the American president. Joe Biden added that this convoy would only be the beginning. “We want to get as many trucks through as possible. There are, I think, around 150”he said, before specifying that the entry of a second convoy would also depend on how the distribution of the first takes place.
4 Why does the operation take so long?
For the moment, none of the shipments transported to Egypt have been able to enter Gazan territory. Because of the lack of agreement on the sending of humanitarian aid between Cairo and Tel Aviv. But also because of the poor state of the roads. Thus, the head of Egyptian diplomacy admits that the passage of aid “requires organization.” Quoted by TF1, Sameh Choukri assures that “the road allowing the delivery of aid between Gaza and the Rafah crossing point has been destroyed” after several Israeli bombings on the Palestinian side of the border. Furthermore, dince Israel closed its border crossings for goods and people, only the Rafah crossing, towards Egypt, has been open, but it has been targeted by several strikes by the Israelis since the start of the conflict.
In the meantime, the pallets of aid are stored in warehouses in Al-Arich, the capital of North Sinai, explains Ahmed Ali, of the Egyptian Red Crescent, to AFP. And as soon as the green light is given, he adds, 250 volunteers are ready to transport them to the border.