The foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, Italy and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement on Sunday, November 15, urging the Government of Israel to end delays and allow immediate humanitarian access across Gaza, saying 150,000 tents and other vital supplies are being held at the border as winter takes hold. The statement was published by Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and by Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa.

Source: UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (GOV.UK)

The four ministers said the humanitarian situation on the ground is dire, that recent floods have brought further suffering, and that the flooding was only the first storm of the winter. People in Gaza desperately need shelter and humanitarian assistance, they said, yet the tents and supplies are being prevented from entering.

Source: Global Affairs Canada

"So we today urge the Government of Israel to stop the delays now and allow immediate, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access throughout Gaza," the ministers said. "The crossings must be opened, and the tents allowed in." They added that dual-use items necessary for humanitarian operations and early recovery must also be granted entry "before it is too late", and described the situation as entirely reversible while there is still time to act before winter fully sets in.

First storm of winter, and shelters already failing

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Friday that flooding had affected more than 200,000 Palestinians, and the World Health Organization has warned that about 950,000 displaced people are living in flood-prone areas, according to Anadolu Agency reporting of the UN figures. Gaza's displaced families are largely sheltering in tents and makeshift structures that offer little protection against winter rain.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The 150,000-tent figure is not new: two days earlier, the Humanitarian Country Team — the forum of UN agencies and aid organisations working in Gaza — said more than 150,000 tents bought by aid partners and member states were sitting outside Gaza ready for dispatch, and OCHA's heavy-rains reporting put about 117,000 of them at Al-Arish in Egypt. Aid officials cited multiple approval requirements, limited crossing capacity and narrow, unpredictable delivery windows as the obstacles.

Awaaz Punjab reported the aid agencies' warning on November 13, when the tents were already waiting outside Gaza as the first winter storm approached: UN and aid agencies said 150,000 tents were waiting to enter Gaza

A coordinated demand, not a new access deal

Sunday's statement is a coordinated diplomatic demand, not a newly agreed border arrangement: it announces no implementation timetable, no new funding and no confirmation that Israeli entry procedures have changed. Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani signed the appeal alongside his Australian, Canadian and British counterparts, LaPresse reported. On November 11, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had rejected accusations that Israel was delaying winter supplies; no Israeli response to Sunday's four-minister statement had been reported by the time of publication.

Source: LaPresse

The ministers also called on all parties to implement the Comprehensive Plan for Gaza, respecting the ceasefire and their obligations under international humanitarian law, and allowing aid to reach the people who need it. Canada's signature gives the appeal a direct Ottawa dimension: it is one of the strongest joint interventions by the four governments on Gaza aid access since the winter season began.

What happens next turns on the crossings. Winter rains are expected to intensify in the coming weeks, and aid agencies say every week of delay leaves more flooded shelters unrepaired and more families exposed. Whether Israel opens additional crossings or speeds approvals for the waiting tents and dual-use recovery equipment will be the first test of whether Sunday's joint pressure changes anything on the ground.