Urgent calls for Gaza aid crossings to reopen as humanitarian access disintegrates

Jason Staines
Jason Staines
Thursday, June 6, 2024

Climate emergency, Heatwaves, Digital platforms, Child health, Trauma, Conflict and war, Global health, WHO, Australian Medical Association, Hospitals

Introduction by Croakey: As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces growing pressure to support a new ceasefire plan for Gaza, aid agencies are warning that humanitarian access in the enclave is disintegrating.

Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has warned that land and sea entry points are effectively shut to meaningful humanitarian assistance, with aid agencies fearing an acceleration in deaths from starvation, disease and denied medical assistance. MSF says new crossing points and the widely publicised ‘floating dock’ only represent cosmetic changes.

“The systematic obstruction at Israeli-controlled crossing points, intensified hostilities, and prolonged telecommunications blackouts have reduced the volume of aid entering Gaza, including food, fuel, and medical supplies, to some of the lowest levels witnessed in the last seven months, said 20 aid agencies,” MSF said in a statement (4 June).

Jason Staines writes:

Aid agencies say that according to United Nations data, just over 1,000 truckloads of aid entered Gaza through all crossing points combined between 7-27 May, including the floating dock. Since Israel began its ground offensive on 7 May, food, medicine and other aid deliveries into Gaza have fallen by two-thirds.

MSF describes the inflow as “alarmingly low given the skyrocketing humanitarian needs of Gaza’s 2.2 million people. It says the Rafah crossing — one of the main entry points for humanitarian workers and aid into Gaza — has been shut since 7 May. Meanwhile, it says more than 2,000 aid trucks are waiting in Egypt for Israeli permission to enter. And while the Kerem Shalom crossing remains officially open, aid shipments there are being displaced by commercial convoys, which are being given priority.

MSF added that it had been unable to get any supplies into the enclave since 6 May, while the challenges of distributing aid safely have also reached a new high. “Continued concerns for the protection of aid operations, including the safety of aid workers, and the proliferation of Israeli checkpoints within Gaza also continue to hamper the humanitarian response,” MSF said.

The situation with aid deliveries is exacerbating the already dire health situation, with Gaza’s health system effectively dismantled. “Virtually every hospital in Gaza has either been issued ‘evacuation orders’, is under an Israeli siege or will soon run out of fuel and supplies,” said MSF.

Meanwhile, Save the Children said children were no longer able to be medically evacuated from Gaza and were struggling to cope with the horrors they are facing.

It comes as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) released its 2023 Annual Health Report, which said Palestine refugees in the Gaza Strip were facing an unprecedented health emergency caused by the most devastating war in their history.

“The health crisis among Palestine refugees can only be mitigated with immediate and sustained healthcare interventions and support. UNRWA remains committed to addressing these urgent needs and improving the health and wellbeing of Palestine Refugees,” said Dr Akihiro Seita, UNRWA Director of Health in a statement (28 May).

In a post on X/Twitter, Martin Griffiths, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator said that delivering aid to Gaza had “become almost impossible” and called for all border crossings to be opened. “We need safe and unimpeded access. We need to prioritise humanitarian aid,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, medical professionals in Australia are continuing to apply pressure on the Australian Government to act.

The group Australian and New Zealand Doctors for Palestine (ANZDFP) has joined with the Medical Association for Prevention of War (MAPW), the Doctors Reform Society (DRS) and the Network of Women in Emergency Medicine (NoWEM) in calling for an urgent end to military exports to Israel, the imposition of a two-way arms embargo, and sanctions.

Their statement follows below:

“As gravely concerned medical professionals watching the violence inflicted upon a civilian population in Gaza, we join the call for an urgent end to all Australian military exports and other ties to Israel.

The international arms trade fuels conflicts, resulting in immeasurable destruction to human life, health, and other vital infrastructure. Indiscriminate and grossly disproportional attacks by Israeli forces on Gaza since October 7th, 2023, have killed upward of 36,000 Palestinians, and injured more than 81,000. Clear breaches of international law and attacks on healthcare have been documented, with over 20 hospitals forced to cease operation and almost 500 healthcare workers killed.

We watch the ongoing Israeli offensive in Rafah, and further attacks against civilians who have already been forcibly displaced – this is despite a UN Security Council resolution supporting an immediate ceasefire and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) calling for a halt to further military operations. Access to critical humanitarian aid has been denied by the Israeli government who enforce a famine on a civilian population, almost half of whom are children.

A ceasefire, despite its proposal in recent days, is yet to occur. We hold concerns that without a permanent and sustained cessation in Israel’s military operations in Gaza, there will be ongoing attacks on civilians and healthcare.

Data from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) have revealed that Australia exported over $1.5 million worth of ‘arms and ammunition’ to Israel in February 2024.

Earlier this year, UN experts have urged member States (including Australia) to immediately halt arms transfers to Israel, including export licenses and military aid. Several human rights organisations have repeatedly stressed that the transfer of weapons (or their parts) that could be used in Gaza is likely to violate international humanitarian law; this also encompasses military surveillance technology that could be implicated in human rights abuses.

The Australian Government recently awarded a $917 million contract to Israeli arms manufacturer, Elbit Systems — this is despite Elbit supplying weapons and technology which further Israel’s apartheid policies towards Palestinians in Gaza and West Bank.

322 defence export permits to Israel have been approved by the Australian Department of Defence since the start of 2017, and there is a lack of transparency surrounding specifics of the exports and uses of equipment by third parties.

There is a lack of clarity about whether Australian manufactured components of Lockheed-Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets are being used by the Israeli Defence Force to commit war crimes. DFAT data has also demonstrated that Australia has exported more than $10 million worth of ‘arms and ammunition’ to Israel over the past five years. Australian government officials, including the defence minister and foreign minister, have continued to deny exports of weapons from Australia to Israel.

As doctors who witness the devastating impact of conflict on health and its infrastructure, we cannot remain silent while our own government is complicit in the ongoing genocide and human rights violations of the Palestinian people.

It is time for Australia to align its actions with its stated desire for an immediate ceasefire. Weapons and technology that have been exported to Israel and which may be implicated in war crimes must be openly disclosed to the public.

We note examples of other countries who have suspended arms transfers and military exports to Israel including the Netherlands, Spain, and Belgium. Previous Australian policies have imposed military sanctions on nations such as Russia and Myanmar in cases of contravention of international law.

We, along with countless Australian healthcare professionals, implore the Australian Government to apply those same principles to reassess its military exports policies, cut all military ties — including a two-way arms embargo — and apply sanctions on Israel.”