European Union Demands Gaza Border Crossings Reopen Amid Worsening Humanitarian Crisis
According to the International Desk of Webangah News Agency, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, has called on Israel to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip and to reopen its border crossings. Kallas stated, “We are asking Israel to allow humanitarian aid to reach the Gaza Strip. The floods and rainfall in the Gaza Strip have further intensified the region’s already dire situation.”
The spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Jens Laerke, reported that recent heavy rainfall in Gaza has impacted over 200,000 Palestinians and damaged the shelters of more than 40,000 families. He warned that the ongoing precipitation could worsen the humanitarian crisis, leading to further flooding and contamination of drinking water sources.
Laerke described the past weekend as a “nightmare” for hundreds of thousands in Gaza, noting that the UN had alerted Israeli authorities months prior to the risk of flooding and requested a larger influx of tents and relief supplies, but no agreement was reached. According to the OCHA spokesperson, Israeli restrictions have trapped Palestinians in flood-prone areas, making it even difficult to replace destroyed tents.
OCHA statistics indicate that approximately 950,000 Palestinians reside in temporary shelters facing moderate to high flood risk, with over 400,000 in high-risk zones. Furthermore, around 150,000 tents purchased by humanitarian organizations have still not been granted entry into the Gaza Strip.
