UN, Norway urge 'Israel' to allow aid into northern Gaza, abide by law
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The Israeli occupation is facing pressure to allow humanitarian aid into the besieged northern Gaza Strip and to comply with its legal obligations but continues to obstruct most aid deliveries.
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Israeli soldiers stand near trucks carrying humanitarian aid just before they cross into the Gaza Strip at the Erez crossing in southern occupied Palestine, on October 21, 2024. (AP)
The United Nations (UN) issued an urgent call to "Israel" on Monday to allow humanitarian access to northern Gaza, highlighting the "massive needs", reported Anadolu Agency.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said, "Access to North Gaza governorate is still extremely limited. Over the weekend, the UN was unable to access the area."
The spokesperson expressed concern over the fate of Palestinians in the area, stressing that the UN is urgently calling on "Israel" to "open up the area to humanitarian operations at the scale needed, given the massive needs."
In a newly shared report by OCHA, Dujarric said, "In October, humanitarian organizations submitted 50 requests to the Israeli authorities to enter North Gaza Governorate, 33 of those requests were rejected outright, and eight were initially accepted, but then faced impediments along the way."
He mentioned that several attempts to coordinate the evacuation of injured UN staff members from the Jabalia area were denied, while Israeli authorities suggested that "this person could attempt to be carried out on foot by relatives waving white flags to identify themselves."
On that note, he added that around 85% of coordinated movements to the north via the Wadi Gaza checkpoint were either denied or impeded by "Israel".
Norway urges 'Israel' to abide by law, allow humanitarian aid flow
Moreover, Norway urged the Israeli occupation to abide by its "international legal obligations" and allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The International Development Minister, Anne Beathe Tvinnereim, said in a statement that her country urged the UN General Assembly to request an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Israeli obligations to facilitate humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
“With this resolution, Norway aims to affirm that no country is exempt from its international legal obligations,” she said.
Tvinnereim added, “Regardless of the ongoing conflict between the parties, Israel has an obligation to enable food and medicine to reach the civilian population in Gaza.”
“The starvation of a civilian population is in violation of the laws of war,” she said, urging "Israel" to abide by the laws of war and to ensure that the civilian population, the sick, and the wounded have access to protection, food, and medical care.
Tvinnereim emphasized that "Israel's" arbitrary and disproportionate attacks have obstructed humanitarian aid to Palestinians, resulting in a "complete breakdown of Gazan society."
'Israel' ignores US ultimatum
It is worth noting that humanitarian aid to Gaza has hit its lowest level since December, with only 8,805 tons of food reaching the strip this month, despite the US' 30-day deadline to enhance humanitarian supplies, according to The Guardian.
Reports suggest that the US had previously ignored reports by its agencies, which found that "Israel" had blocked food and medicine shipments. According to US law, US aid that any "state" that prevents US aid from reaching its destination should face the consequence of no military aid shipments.
“If no effective action is taken by stakeholders with influence, the scale of this looming catastrophe is likely to dwarf anything we have seen so far in the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023,” the Famine Review Committee said.
In a last-minute decision, Israeli officials enlarged the authorized “humanitarian zone” in Gaza, but seemingly continue to ignore US demands to allow more humanitarian aid into the strip.
