Observing aid crossing into Gaza, French MEP calls for ceasefire

With four Renew MEPs having just returned from a two-day trip to the border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, French MEP Christophe Grudler, who led the delegation, spoke to Euractiv France about how humanitarian aid is being delivered across the borders.

Read the original French article here.

With the crisis in Gaza deepening as Israel continues to lay siege to the strip in its battle against Hamas, NGOs on the ground are warning of deteriorating health and sanitation conditions, mainly due to the lack of water purification and electricity.

Since 7 October, when a Hamas terrorist attack killed some 1,200 Israelis, Israel has killed at least 20,000 people in Gaza, two thirds of which are women and children, according to the widely accepted figures reported by UNWRA from the Hamas-run health ministry this week.

EU leaders called on Israel and Hamas to set a pause in the fighting to allow humanitarian aid to reach Gaza civilians in October. Despite requests from several countries, such as Spain, Belgium and France, to call for a ceasefire, the leaders did not change their position at their last meeting.

“At this stage, I am almost certain that in the long term, this could be as dangerous as the bombing,” said Ricardo Martinez, logistics coordinator for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), who was on the ground in early December.

Faced with this situation, the EU and its member states, the world’s second-largest donors of humanitarian aid to Gaza after Egypt, are trying to get humanitarian assistance to the civilian population.

To monitor the delivery of EU aid, four MEPs from the Renew Group spent two days (16 and 17 December) in the region.

The aim of the parliamentary mission was to “assess the situation on the ground about the reasons and challenges that explain why humanitarian aid is not sufficiently reaching the population of Gaza”, according to the mission’s press release.

The mission was led by French MEP Christophe Grudler, accompanied by his group colleagues Abir Al Sahlani (Sweden), Soraya Rodriguez Ramos (Spain) and Barry Andrews (Ireland).

The four MEPs travelled from Cairo to the Gaza-Egypt border crossing at the Salah Ad Din Gate in Rafah, which was opened on 19 October – a seven-hour drive through the Sinai desert, which is heavily controlled by the Egyptian army, which has been operating there since the Islamic State set up operations in the region.

Humanitarian lorries

At the gates of Rafah, the line of lorries carrying humanitarian aid stretches as far as the eye can see, Grudler said.

There are “250 lorries waiting to cross into Gaza”, first to reach the Rafah camp on the Gazan side, where compared to the usual 150,000, there are now more than a million civilians, the MEP explained.

Most of the humanitarian lorries are stopped at Al Arish, 50 kilometres from Rafah on the Egyptian coast. On 16 December, there were exactly 254, according to UN documents seen by Euractiv France.

There were 171 trucks loaded with food, 43 with household goods and shelter, 13 with medical supplies, 12 with water, 4 with medicines and 11 with a mix of products.

Before being allowed to cross the border, Israel, despite being one party in the conflict, takes some to Nitzana to scan them.

“With the aim of eradicating Hamas, Israel takes no risks and refuses anything that could be considered a weapon,” Grudler added, saying that this included solar panels, tents, and other items.

According to the UN documents, by 16 December 2023, 100 oxygen cylinders, one oxygen generator, 1,200 water purifiers, 418 medical kits, 1,000 solar panels and 24 electricity generators had been banned.

Ensuring passage to Gaza

Asked how authorities can ensure that Hamas does not hijack humanitarian aid once it reaches Gaza, Grudler admits: “It’s not easy.”

“Although the lorries in Gaza are monitored by the NGOs and their volunteers on the ground to prevent Hamas from diverting aid, this kind of situation can happen,” he said.

The issue was at the heart of the concerns between Israel and the US when the Rafah crossing was opened.

A video broadcast by Israeli media on Sunday (17 December) showed a humanitarian truck was shown being ridden by armed men.

However, Grudler remains confident that “the lorries arriving in Gaza keep the flag of the country or organisation they come from: EU, France, Germany, etc.” despite some humanitarian aid contributors being tempted to hijack the work of others.

Ceasefire the only viable long-term solution

However, according to Grudler, the only viable long-term solution to this “tragic situation for the civilian population” is a ceasefire.

On his return to Brussels, he reported back to his colleagues, hoping they would persuade their national authorities to stop the fighting.

But Austria and the Czech Republic voted against the latest UN resolution on this issue at the EU level, drafted on 12 December, while Germany abstained.

Since then, UN Security Council members have been trying to develop a new resolution, hoping for a fresh pause in the fighting.

“This would allow Israel to save hostages while avoiding being accused of being the executioner of women and children when they are fighting the executioners of women and children,” said Grudler.

On other fronts, negotiations have made progress.

Last Sunday (17 December), the Israeli authorities authorised the “temporary” opening of the Kerem Shalom border crossing in the southwest of the Gaza Strip. Closer to Nitzana, this will facilitate and speed up the delivery of humanitarian aid. On the same day, almost 200 lorries were allowed to enter Gaza.

Negotiations are also underway to create a “safeguard zone” in the Gaza Strip.

“This would be where people could go to protect themselves from the bombardments. The problem is that these areas have no water or electricity,” Grudler added.

UN Security Council moving toward vote to demand aid access for Gaza

The United Nations Security Council could vote as early as Monday (18 December) on a proposal to demand that Israel and Hamas allow aid access to the Gaza Strip – via land, sea and air routes – and set up UN monitoring of the humanitarian assistance delivered.

[Aurélie Pugnet contributed to reporting]

[Edited by Alice Taylor]

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