EU High Representative Kaja Kallas and multiple nations have issued a joint statement demanding Israel authorize all international NGO aid shipments and permit essential humanitarian workers to operate in Gaza. The declaration, signed by EU members including Italy, and non-EU states such as Australia, the UK, and Japan, stresses: “Immediate, permanent, and concrete measures are essential to ensure safe, large-scale access for the UN, international NGOs, and humanitarian partners.”
“Famine is spreading before our eyes in Gaza, where humanitarian suffering has reached unimaginable levels,” the statement reads. It urgently calls for intervention “to halt and reverse the trend towards starvation,” insisting humanitarian space must be protected and aid must never be politicized.
The statement warns that new registration restrictions could force vital international NGOs to immediately withdraw from the Occupied Palestinian Territory, drastically worsening the crisis. It demands all crossings and routes be used to facilitate the flow of critical supplies – including food, shelter materials, fuel, drinking water, medicine, and medical equipment – into Gaza. It further calls for protection of civilians, aid workers, and medical personnel, prohibiting lethal force at distribution sites.
The nations expressed gratitude to the US, Qatar, and Egypt for ceasefire efforts, concluding: “We need a ceasefire to end the war, free hostages, and allow unhindered land-based aid access into Gaza.”