EU offers to help Israel deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas offered Israel help on Wednesday to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, where it has not arrived for over two months. “I also offered the help of the European Union to distribute humanitarian aid if other actors on the ground are not trustworthy,” said Kallas upon her arrival in Warsaw for an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers.

Since March 2, no humanitarian aid has been allowed to enter the territory where 2.4 million people live. Israel, which accuses Hamas of diverting the aid, suggested distributing it in centers controlled by the military.

Several European ministers expressed their concern on Wednesday about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, calling on the EU to take action.

Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp sent a letter to Kallas demanding a review of the association agreement between the European Union and Israel, in accordance with Article 2. This article specifies that relations between the EU and Israel are based on respect for human rights and democratic principles. “I would like to request an examination of Israel’s compliance with Article 2 as soon as possible,” the Minister wrote in this letter, a copy of which was obtained by AFP.

Kallas assured that the issue would be discussed on Thursday, during the second day of this informal meeting. “It is time for the European Union and the entire international community to wake up,” declared Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot. He condemned it as “an absolute disgrace.” “It is not acceptable, deliberately cutting off all humanitarian aid, access to food, healthcare, electricity, water, as a war strategy, is totally unacceptable,” he added.

Spain will present a resolution before the U.N. General Assembly proposing “emergency measures to stop the massacre of civilians” and ensure the entry of “humanitarian aid” into the Gaza Strip, announced Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Wednesday.