Humanitarian situation in Gaza

Getting aid into Gaza is logistically unnecessarily difficult. There are multiple checks and at the time the Committee visited, it was taking 20–25 days for a truck to get from the Egyptian Red Crescent warehouse in Al Arish into Gaza, a journey of around 30 miles. NGOs spoke of almost malicious bureaucracy, which saw trucks turned back for carrying just one perceived dual use item (although it was not explained what that one item was, nor why it was rejected).

The UK Government must call for all existing land crossings to be opened and for opening hours extended. This would speed up aid getting through the border and allow access to other areas of Gaza, particularly in the north. Ultimately, this is the only way to avoid famine. Pressure must be put on Israel to speed up the progress of aid through checkpoints and border crossings.

The deconfliction system, whereby organisations notify the Israeli military about where they are going to be working and distributing aid, is not working, and aid workers have been killed and injured in their duties.

NGOs and UN organisations have explained how their operations are severely limited by the scale of destruction in Gaza. The infrastructure is poor and some roads are impassable - and the desperation of the inhabitants means journeys present many challenges for their staff. With almost two million people living around Rafah City, which is close to the only aid crossing - an area where previously 250,000 people were living - it is almost impossible to move aid further into the Gaza Strip.

The UK Government must prioritise urgent discussions with the Israeli authorities to speed up security and improve the deconfliction systems so that aid workers can operate more safely. The UK Government should lead discussions with the international community to increase security for aid workers in the region.

Unfortunately, little can be done from the UK to support the mental health of aid workers at this time, but no one should lose sight of the scale of care that will be needed for these people - as well as the wider Gazan population - after this conflict comes to an end.

Current border restrictions will make it impossible to avert a famine. The state of desperation in Gaza has been emphasised to this Committee. Food is not getting through in anything close to the amounts needed. Lack of certainty of supply is driving desperate behaviour in the population and gives opportunity for organised crime to step in.

Both of these issues would be lessened by a massive increase in food entering Gaza– flooding the market, as some aid workers have described it. Opening more crossings would allow more trucks to enter, but logistics systems must be improved so that Humanitarian situation in Gaza 19 more trucks can flow through each day. A system that on a bad day is restricting access to just a handful of trucks is not going to solve these massive problems.

The UK Government must make it an absolute priority to avoid famine by getting sufficient amounts of food aid into Gaza, as measured by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). This will give certainty to the population there, which will ease other issues, including improving security for aid workers and disincentivising illicit market activity. This entails Israel opening up existing crossings, providing a more streamlined entry system and communicating about why goods are being returned.

Commercial vehicles have always formed a vital part of supplies to Gaza. The UK Government must put pressure on Israel to allow commercial goods to enter and be delivered to Gaza safely to supplement other resources.

Gazans also need to be supported to rebuild their own internal food market, from growing fruit and vegetables to raising livestock - all of which occurred before this crisis. The UK must build this into any future plans for its support to Gaza after the current conflict.

The Egyptian Red Crescent Society and Egypt’s Ministries of Health and Population and of Social Solidarity must be praised for their heroic work on the front line of supporting Gazans and coordinating efforts. The UK Government must acknowledge the disruption this crisis is causing to the Egyptian economy and its public services. The UK Government must understand the resulting problems that Egypt is seeing with shortages of medical equipment and rising prices for its own population and offer the support that it requires (and not what the UK thinks that it may need).

While the comments above will mitigate some of the worst horrors of the situation, the Committee is clear that unless there is a lasting ceasefire, this catastrophe will continue to escalate. According to those we spoke to, anything less than 30 days would not allow enough aid in, or give time for medical and aid workers to get required visas. (Paragraph 48) After the violence

There needs to be a three-pillar approach to this crisis and its lasting resolution – covering political, security and humanitarian. All three are essential and cannot be seen in isolation, and whilst it is not the remit of this Committee to make recommendations in the political or security arenas, the UK Government must do more in all three – both to help ease the suffering of the civilians in Gaza and also maintain, or possibly try to regain, its credibility with its partner countries in this region.

In its previous report, this Committee welcomed the Government’s introduction of the Office for Conflict, Stabilisation and Mediation (OCSM) with a hub to consider atrocity prevention. However, it seems that this hub has not met its promise. The FCDO should revisit our previous report and look at how to improve the hub, 20 Humanitarian situation in Gaza because it should be forming a central part of the Government’s response in Gaza and it appears not to have the resource to give the leadership across Whitehall that is required.

The internally displaced people (IDPs) in Gaza will not be able to go home when the fighting ends. Most do not have a home or livelihood to go to and children will have missed months of education. This means that that the whole population will likely be dependent on aid and living in temporary shelters for a long time. All international partners must recognise this and build this in to longer-term plans.

It is difficult to see past the horrors that are ongoing in Gaza today. But the UK Government must plan for the next phase. These plans must include the Palestinian people and will include discussions with bilateral partners and also multilateral organisations. It is in no one’s interest to create a dependent population, and this is something that the Gazans to whom the Committee spoke were very clear on.

The UK Government must listen to the people of Gaza and include them in the plans for reconstruction. Allowing them to rebuild their businesses alongside their homes will allow much-needed economic activity to restart, help to restore the dignity of the Gazan population and rebuild their lives. The UK Government should consider all the tools at its disposal, such as the alternative financing mechanisms set out in the recent White Paper, to support Gazan businesses to support themselves. Where infrastructure grants are given, Gazan businesses must be the first considered for contracts with the UK Government looking at providing bank guarantees alongside.

The UK has specialisms in which it can lead, such as Preventing Sexual Violence. The UK Government needs to prioritise working with Palestinian civil society in all stages of the rebuilding in Gaza and encourage international partners also to include the Palestinian people in their future plans. The rebuilding should happen in a manner that preserves their dignity as well as improve the living conditions and the economy.

The UK Government should use its convening power and host a conference to consider how reconstruction of Gaza can be factored into future plans and how the international community can support that in a sustainable manner. This conference should include potential donor nations, multi-lateral organisations, such as the UN, and Palestinian businesses who have been involved in rebuilding Gaza previously and have expertise to share as well as a stake in the future.

This Committee understands that the UK Government wants to see UNRWA improve its governance and then return to receiving funding for its work in Gaza. The UK Government must push for this to happen quickly, both so that UK funding continues but also that international partners are persuaded to restart their funding as well, otherwise the consequences for public services will be catastrophic, both in the Gaza Strip and in the other areas where UNRWA works, including the West Bank and refugee camps in the region. (Paragraph 72) Humanitarian situation in Gaza 21

UNRWA is the only functioning organisation in parts of Gaza and the people of Gaza need its support. Whether it needs to be reformed to support long-term regeneration in Gaza is an important question but is one for the future planning.

It is not within this Committee’s remit to consider International Law but, in every conversation, it was raised with us and the arguments made were compelling that breaches of international law are taking place. The UK Government must insist that Israel complies with its obligations under international humanitarian law. It must work with international partners to hold Israel to account in this.

Following the ruling by the International Court of Justice on 26 January, the UK Government must push Israel to allow the necessary aid into Gaza. The Committee has received no reassurance that healthcare workers and facilities are being protected, as is required under international humanitarian law, and the UK Government must insist that every measure is taken to offer this protection.

And the UK Government must press for evidence to be gathered contemporaneously so that thorough investigations about compliance with international law on both sides can take place after the fighting stops. (Paragraph 80) 22 Humanitarian situation in Gaza