EU organises new aid flights to Gaza

Today, 2 new EU Humanitarian Air Bridge flights for the people of Gaza took off from Ostend (Belgium) and Dubai (United Arab Emirates), transporting almost 115 tonnes of assistance supplies to al-Arish, Egypt, near the Rafah Border Crossing Point.

Today, Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič visited the site to see the cargo delivered by the humanitarian partners Médecins du Monde (MdM), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and representatives of France, who donate essential humanitarian medical supplies to be transported from Ostend on a flight organised by the EU-International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) coordination platform.

The cargo from Dubai will carry logistical items such as refrigerators and containers, a crucial element for the treatment of aid arriving in Egypt and Gaza. These items were purchased by the EU and donated to the World Food Programme (WFP) in order to strengthen the logistical capacity of the Egyptian Red Crescent and to facilitate relief operations in the region.

This brings the number of EU aid flights in Gaza to 8 in recent weeks, which has transported over 320 tonnes of humanitarian supplies.

In addition, given the huge humanitarian needs in the Gaza Strip, additional flights are under preparation in close collaboration with the United Nations Humanitarian Response Depository (UNHRD) and other humanitarian partners. The aim is to transport additional aid, including emergency items from the EU emergency reserve stocks in Dubai and Brindisi.

Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, said: “We are marking exactly one month since Hamas's most abhorrent terrorist attack on Israel. That attack and Israel's ensuing response have already claimed over ten thousand innocent lives. And it is a full month now that the world is witnessing a human tragedy unfolding in Gaza. The humanitarian situation there is catastrophic. The European Commission has therefore not only quadrupled its humanitarian funding so far but has also set up a comprehensive plan to support the humanitarian response in practice, including air transportation, coordination, and local logistics schemes in Egypt. Yet despite efforts like these, I cannot underscore enough that there is still way too little humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza.”

“It is paramount that all the parties involved finally heed the numerous calls to ensure unhindered and sustained humanitarian access. This is an obligation under International Humanitarian Law. And it is essential that humanitarian agencies working inside Gaza are able safely to deliver assistance to people in need. For this, there is no way around clearly defined and respected humanitarian pauses by the warring parties," Lenarčič explained.

The IFRC Secretary General, Jagan Chapagain, said: “Human misery continues to unfold in Israel and Palestine. The cooperation between the EU and IFRC to support the humanitarian airbridge is a vital opportunity to increase the flow of humanitarian assistance to those who desperately need it. We need to make sure to give a proper and dignified humanitarian answer to the immense needs of people in the Gaza Strip".