Fifty-three countries and organisations urged Israel's incoming government on Thursday, November 12, to allow rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access throughout Gaza, in a joint statement delivered at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Source: GOV.UK

Ambassador Sarah MacIntosh, the United Kingdom's Permanent Representative to the UN, read the statement on behalf of the countries and bodies that joined a Call to Action on health and humanitarian access into Gaza, led by the UK, the State of Qatar and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The participants include India, Pakistan, Canada, Egypt, France, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Spain and Türkiye, along with the European Commission, the League of Arab States and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

Source: UNifeed

The group said the Comprehensive Peace Plan endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2803 provides for the immediate entry of full humanitarian assistance at levels no lower than those agreed on January 19, 2025, and that this 'has not yet been realised'. It said progress since the ceasefire shows improvement is possible when political will allows.

Winter warning

As winter sets in, the statement warned, far too many people in Gaza are still without adequate shelter and risk exposure to hypothermia, respiratory infections, waterborne diseases and other preventable illnesses. Constraints on the entry of critical shelter items and other lifesaving supplies, it said, continue to prevent humanitarian organisations from responding at the scale required.

Eight asks to the incoming Israeli government

Following elections in Israel, the group reiterated its call to the incoming government: open all crossings and land routes; facilitate the full and predictable operation of the Egyptian and Jordanian humanitarian corridors; approve more critical items, including so-called dual-use items for shelter, fuel, water, sanitation and health; restore medical referrals to hospitals in East Jerusalem and the West Bank; protect healthcare workers, facilities and medical transport under international humanitarian law; protect all notified humanitarian sites; open and expedite transparent criminal investigations into attacks on healthcare and humanitarian workers; and allow senior international delegations and journalists into Gaza.

What the signatories promised

The countries said they would support urgent winterisation efforts, including shelter, water, sanitation and health supplies, and would support the Palestinian Authority, working with the transitional National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, the UN and other partners, to restore essential health services and rehabilitate health infrastructure. They reaffirmed the role of the UN and its agencies, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and other impartial humanitarian organisations, as set out in Resolution 2803.

The statement gave no dollar amounts and did not say when Israel's new government will take office, and it included no response from Israel. What happens next depends on the incoming government's decisions on crossings, corridors and the approval of shelter and other critical items.