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25 human rights associations and humanitarian organizations called on governments to exercise their influence to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, and to give priority to delivering humanitarian aid by land to the besieged Strip, which has been subjected to continuous bombing for more than 5 months.

These humanitarian organizations said in a joint statement: “States cannot hide behind airdrops and efforts to open a sea corridor, to create the illusion that they are doing enough to support the needs in Gaza. Their primary responsibility is to prevent the occurrence of atrocity crimes, and to exert effective political pressure to put an end to them.” "To the continuous bombing and the lifting of restrictions that prevent safe access to aid."

Airdrop

She said that airdrops cannot provide the volume of aid that can be transported by land. “While a convoy of 5 trucks has the capacity to carry about 100 tons of life-saving aid, recent airdrops only delivered a few tons of aid each. “In addition, airdrops can pose a significant risk to the lives of civilians seeking to receive aid.”

She also indicated that some countries, which recently carried out airdrops, also supply the Israeli authorities with weapons, namely the United States of America, the United Kingdom and France, stressing that “states cannot use aid to avoid their international responsibilities and duties under international law, including preventing the occurrence of atrocity crimes.” ".

Sea passage

The signatory organizations said that these countries recently announced efforts to open a sea corridor from Cyprus, including the establishment of a floating port on the coast of Gaza, which will not operate at full capacity for several weeks, while families are starving and cannot wait for the maritime infrastructure to be prepared. And the wilderness.”

He stressed that saving the lives of residents there in Gaza includes “immediately allowing the entry of humanitarian trucks filled with food and medicine, which are currently prohibited from entering Gaza.”

Moreover, she added, when reaching distribution points around Gaza, shipments from this port will face the same obstacles that aid convoys coming from Rafah currently face: continued insecurity, a high rate of access denial by Israeli forces, and long waits at Israeli checkpoints.

Therefore, according to the organizations’ statement, the establishment of this port will not significantly change the catastrophic humanitarian situation, unless it is accompanied by an immediate ceasefire and full, unimpeded access for aid to all areas of the Gaza Strip.

She added that there are also concerns about the lack of transparency about who will be responsible for the infrastructure and the security of aid delivery on shore, as countries should ensure that the sea corridor does not legitimize the prolonged Israeli ground military occupation of the Strip by exploiting the need to deliver aid.

She said that she realizes that all aid is urgently needed in this difficult context, but alerts "to the potentially devastating consequences of creating dangerous precedents that lead to the deterioration of humanitarian access across the territory and the prolongation of hostilities."

It stated that it expects the three countries (the United States of America, the United Kingdom and France) to urgently use their influence to establish an immediate ceasefire and oblige the Israeli authorities to stop their deliberate blockade of life-saving aid throughout the Gaza Strip, including the complete opening of the Rafah, Kerem Shalom, Beit Hanoun and Al-Mantar crossings. And lift restrictions on it.

Among the organizations that signed the statement were Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam, Amnesty International, Action Aid International, the War Child Alliance, the Italian NGO Association, the International Federation for Human Rights, the Catholic Committee Against Hunger and for Development... and others.

After 5 months of the Israeli war and the tightening siege on the Gaza Strip, the vast majority of the Strip’s population of 2.2 million people are at risk of famine, according to the United Nations.

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