On Tuesday 3 February, the European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid, Hadja Lahbib, explained that the Palestinians must be involved in the Middle East peace negotiations.
With regard to a future peace, “Palestinians must be at the table. In Europe, we always say: ‘nothing about Ukraine without Ukrainians’. The same applies here. Nothing about Palestine without Palestinians”, stressed the Commissioner at the opening of a photo exhibition on Gaza in Brussels.
“A real, lasting ceasefire is long overdue in Gaza and the West Bank, where settler violence continues to force entire communities from their homes. International humanitarian law must be respected”, she added.
Since the ceasefire began in October, hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes. “Let’s be honest, with hundreds continuing to die, it is hard to call this a ceasefire. Israel must stop killing civilians. Hamas must demilitarise. All parties must respect their commitments”, stressed the Commissioner. She called for phase one of the peace plan to be respected and phase two to be implemented. Israeli strikes killed 17 people, including three children, early on Wednesday, according to the Gaza Civil Defense.
While stressing that more humanitarian aid had reached Gaza in recent weeks, the Commissioner felt that this was “far too little”. “Aid trucks pile up at the border, engines off, supplies inside, blocked by Israeli restrictions”, complained Mrs Lahbib. And although the Rafah crossing has been reopened, it is only for people on foot (see EUROPE 13799/10). “Only for fifty people a day. This will not bring in food, water, tents or fuel (...) It will not save lives”, she lamented.
The European Commissioner pointed out that, since October 2023, the EU had provided €550 million in humanitarian aid, organised more than 80 humanitarian flights and delivered more than 5,400 tonnes of assistance.
“Even as we enter a new phase of the peace plan, Gaza’s battered population has found little respite. They still lack adequate shelter, nutrition and sanitation. They still lack sufficient access to healthcare and education. They are still unable to find and bury their dead”, denounced the Commissioner General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini.
Although 90% of the schools have been destroyed or damaged and are being used as shelters for displaced persons, UNRWA is providing face-to-face education for some 60,000 children, in addition to providing support for almost 300,000 children via an online platform. “It should be our collective priority to bring children in Gaza back to learning, to address trauma, foster hope, and prevent radicalisation”, explained Mr Lazzarini. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)