04/03/2025 Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
Saskia Kluit (Netherlands, SOC), PACE rapporteur on “The absolute and urgent need to end the humanitarian crisis for women, children and the hostages in Gaza” today made the following statement:
“I am deeply alarmed by Israel’s decision to halt humanitarian aid into the Gaza strip.
The blocking of humanitarian aid deliveries into the Gaza Strip has severe consequences for the people in Gaza, especially children and families in desperate need. The humanitarian needs in Gaza are still immense and blocking this aid is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. Last Sunday, the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, called for “humanitarian aid to flow back into Gaza immediately”. The Genocide Convention forbids blocking food aid to civilians at all times, also in times of war. This blockage is just another step in the long-time suffering of the people of Gaza. Already in 2017, the Parliamentary Assembly stated that the lifting of the blockade is a vital precondition for the resolution of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza (Resolution 2142 (2017)).
Even with the restoration of food deliveries, the lack of drinking water, the near-complete destruction of Gaza’s hospitals and clinics, the lack of shelter, and the build-up of untreated sewage among the rubble are all but lethal to the surviving population of 2 million people. Just to cite an example of the dire situation: even last week infants were dying because of hypothermia, while their lives could have been easily saved with good tents and other basic humanitarian goods. This shouldn’t happen in societies based on human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
After the ceasefire on 19 January 2025, humanitarian workers in Gaza were racing against time to assist those in need and save lives. They were repairing water systems and vital infrastructure as people return to what is left of their homes. This progress, relying on the ceasefire being upheld, and sustained funding, is threatened.
What children and people in Gaza need now is a sustained ceasefire and continued unimpeded and unconditional access to aid.
Recalling the Assembly’s Resolution 2582 (2025), I urgently call on the parties to fully respect their obligations under international law and immediately grant full, rapid, safe and unhindered access by humanitarian aid organisations to the Gaza Strip and to ensure that the adequate supply of essential goods in the Gaza Strip, such as food, water, medical equipment and medicines, fuel and shelter, is guaranteed for all Palestinians, in particular women and children, and for the hostages in Gaza. I call on the Israeli observer delegation to PACE to push for unhindered access to humanitarian aid in Gaza.”