Oxfam reaction to UK Government joint statements on Gaza

“We welcome the UK government taking a lead on the dire aid situation in Gaza alongside 22 fellow donor countries and the EU, in calling for the critically urgent delivery of humanitarian supplies. We also support the further statement issued with Canada and France advising Israel that concrete action – including targeted sanctions – will be taken if Israel does not cease its disproportionate military offensive and lift restrictions on humanitarian support.

“The sentiment of the joint statement with France and Canada has been a long time coming. Where the UK government is sincere in word and deed, Oxfam GB would urge the Prime Minister and FCDO to immediately halt the sale of British-made components used in F35 fighter jets being sold to Israel, and any other arms that have a very real chance of being used to inflict harm upon the people of Gaza.

“As for the desperate aid situation, while some emergency supplies were allowed into Gaza today, Israel is still blocking all but a trickle of aid amid scenes of utter desperation. The British people would struggle to imagine the impact on our lives if our supermarkets and pharmacies had not been replenished since early March. But this is what has happened in Gaza under daily bombardment. For over 70 days, Israel has starved the people of Gaza, depriving them not just of food, but water, medicine, and essential supplies, while escalating its indiscriminate bombing campaign. Over 53,000 people are dead, and two million people are struggling to survive amid pervasive hunger, compounded by a relentless cycle of forced displacement and deepening trauma.

“In the last 24 hours, only a handful of aid trucks have been authorised to enter Gaza, just one percent of the daily number before the conflict. Those limited supplies cannot be mistaken for meaningful progress, especially given the expansion of Israel's brutal bombing campaign across the northern Gaza Strip that is now extending down to Khan Younis. Oxfam also remains deeply concerned about Israel’s plan to take over aid operations, which would only create more military-controlled zones and opaque conditions that exclude local and experienced humanitarian organisations, hindering the impartial delivery of aid.

“What is urgently needed now is an immediate and permanent ceasefire, that allows a full and proper humanitarian response to reach people and facilitates the return of the hostages.”

/Ends

For more information, or to arrange an interview please contact: Sarah Dransfield on 07884 114825 / sdransfield@oxfam.org.uk

Notes to editors:

• UK joint statement with Canada and France released earlier this evening: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/joint-statement-from-the-leaders-of-the-united-kingdom-france-and-canada-on-the-situation-in-gaza-and-the-west-bank
• Joint donor statement from 26 aid partners published today: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/joint-donor-statement-on-humanitarian-aid-to-gaza?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications-topic&utm_source=2bb2832a-4a5f-4a6a-a8ab-00aefef7d645&utm_content=immediately