EU coordinating 6 new humanitarian aid flights for Gaza

A new EU aid flight has departed today from Copenhagen, carrying 51 tonnes of medicines, medical items, and education supplies on behalf of Unicef to Egypt for people in need in Gaza.

The flight is part of 6 upcoming flights of the EU humanitarian air bridge operation transporting essential supplies provided by partners for fast deployment to the field.

The EU is funding the total cost of all flights and supporting the coordination of operations under the European Humanitarian Response Capacity.

The upcoming flights are scheduled to be rolled out along the next 2 weeks. Besides UNICEF, among the partners providing the humanitarian cargo there are:

• the World Health Organisation (WHO),
• the World Food Program (WFP),
• the International Organization for Migration (IOM),
• the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and
• the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The delivered aid items will be used to scale-up the humanitarian response for the recent violence escalation affecting people in Gaza, where the already dire situation keeps deteriorating.

Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, said: "To alleviate the suffering of the people in the Gaza Strip in these extremely difficult times it is imperative that full, unrestricted and safe humanitarian access into Gaza is granted. The desperately needed supplies to provide a lifeline to the Palestinian population in need are being delivered to Egypt also by the EU. We continue with our humanitarian air bridge operation with further 6 flights to support our humanitarian partner organisations on the ground. Once again, I urge all involved parties to let aid trucks move without further delay."

Background

This humanitarian air bridge operation follows the previous 2 flights in aid of Gaza completed on 16 and 19 October, which transported a total of 56 tonnes of supplies by UNICEF.

The EU has been providing humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in need since 2000, supporting vulnerable families affected by emergencies and shocks.

EU humanitarian aid is exclusively channelled through registered humanitarian organisations, including UN agencies, international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and international organisations such as the Red Cross/Crescent family.

Our partner organisations are required to follow the highest standards, including strict reporting requirements and are subject to monitoring and inspection from EU humanitarian experts.

Despite access challenges and security concerns in Gaza following the ongoing crisis, EU partners operating on the ground continue to provide humanitarian assistance to people in need.