From the Correspondent in Strasbourg – The European Parliament returns to the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. EU Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarčič responded from Strasbourg to the alarm launched by the UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini that humanitarian aid entering the Strip decreased by 50 percent in February compared to January. The message is clear: Israel must implement the measures demanded by the International Court of Justice.
On Jan. 26, the Hague-based court issued the first decision regarding the risk of genocide in the Gaza Strip, giving Israeli authorities one month to submit a report outlining the measures taken to prevent such a crime. A court spokesman confirmed to Eunews that the report has arrived and is now under review by the judges.
But in the past month, the situation on the ground has deteriorated further. Israel is threatening a full-scale operation in Rafah, where nearly 2 million internally displaced Palestinians have been crammed in the past five months, if Hamas does not release the hostages before the start of Ramadan (on March 10). The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees denounced the worrying reduction of humanitarian assistance in Gaza due to “lack of political will, regular closure of border crossings, and lack of security due to military operations”.
Even in the north of the Strip, UNRWA has reportedly failed to distribute aid since January 23. Lenarčič joined UNRWA’s complaint, participating in the debate on the situation in Gaza in the Strasbourg hemicycle on behalf of EU High Representative Josep Borrell. “One month after the Court called for provisional measures, the situation has only worsened. Pockets of hunger have appeared in Gaza, people are so desperate that ordinary distribution is no longer possible,” he told the courtroom. And he reminded MEPs that the EU expected “full, immediate, and effective implementation” of the Hague “binding orders”.
Bulletins released daily by Gaza’s Ministry of Health speak of 30 thousand confirmed casualties in the Strip since October 7. A carnage to which several thousand missing under the rubble must be added. According to a Johns Hopkins University report, the death toll could exceed 60 thousand if there is no ceasefire and a massive increase in humanitarian aid as soon as possible. Lenarčič recalled that “26 out of 27 member states” have accepted the international community’s call for Israel not to advance on Rafah and for an “agreement to reach an immediate end to the fighting and the release of the Israeli hostages still held by Hamas”.
26 Member States -again with Budapest the Devil’s advocate – also “agree on the adoption of sanctions” against extremist Israeli settlers, but the Hungarian veto blocked the EU. “Some member states have introduced national entry bans. With Ramadan approaching in two weeks, the risk that the situation could get further out of hand is high,” the Slovenian commissioner warned.
He then returned to the issue of UNRWA and Israel’s accusations of complicity of some staff members in the October 7 terrorist attacks. “The work of the UN, including UNRWA, remains crucial,” Lenarčič made clear, recalling that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Lazzarini himself “are taking the Israeli allegations very seriously and have taken immediate action.” Lenarčič called on MEPs to “recognize the high-risk environment in which UNRWA operates” and to reject “collective punishments that would contribute to humanitarian collapse in Gaza,” as well as instability in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and the occupied West Bank. For the EU commissioner in charge of humanitarian crises, there is no doubt: “It remains critically important to provide UNRWA with adequate funding,” simply because “there is no substitute for Unrwa, now and for the day after.”
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
