LONDON / OTTAWA — The foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, Italy and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement on Sunday urging the Government of Israel to "stop the delays now" and allow 150,000 tents and other vital supplies being held at the border to enter Gaza immediately, as winter takes hold and recent floods deepen the suffering of displaced families.

Source: UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (gov.uk), Nov 15, 2026

"We, the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Canada, Italy and the United Kingdom, are clear that as winter takes hold in Gaza, the humanitarian situation on the ground is dire," the four ministers said in the statement, published by the UK Foreign Office and by Global Affairs Canada on November 15. "The recent floods have brought further suffering — and this was only the first storm of the winter."

"People in Gaza desperately need shelter and humanitarian assistance. Yet 150,000 tents and other vital supplies are being held at the border and prevented from entering Gaza," the statement said. "This situation is entirely reversible — and there is still time to act before the winter fully sets in."

What the four governments are demanding

The ministers urged Israel to allow "immediate, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access throughout Gaza", saying the crossings must be opened and the tents allowed in. They also said dual-use items necessary for humanitarian operations and early recovery must be granted entry before it is too late, and called on all parties to implement the Comprehensive Plan for Gaza, respecting the ceasefire and their obligations under international humanitarian law so aid can reach the people who need it.

Source: Global Affairs Canada, Nov 15, 2026

The appeal follows the warning issued two days earlier by the UN-led Humanitarian Country Team, which said the Gaza storm toll was preventable while the same 150,000 tents waited outside the territory. Read the earlier UN warning

According to the Humanitarian Country Team, which brings together UN agencies and aid organisations, more than 150,000 tents bought by aid partners and governments are outside Gaza and ready for dispatch, most of them in Al Arish in Egypt, and thousands of family shelters were flooded, swept away or torn apart in the latest rainstorm. The team said funding for the winter response had fallen far short of what is needed.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said flooding affected more than 200,000 Palestinians, while the World Health Organization warned that about 950,000 displaced people are living in flood-prone areas, Anadolu Agency reported.

Source: Anadolu Agency via EuropeSays, Nov 15, 2026

There was no immediate Israeli response to Sunday's joint statement in the reporting available at publication. On November 11, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected accusations that Israel was delaying winter supplies. The four ministers' statement does not announce any new delivery or change in access — it is a coordinated diplomatic demand, and what happens next depends on whether the crossings open before the next winter storm.