Swedish aid minister Benjamin Dousa calls on Israel to take responsibility and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, as the region faces a severe hunger crisis. Over 100 aid organizations demand the opening of borders for relief efforts, while Sweden seeks EU support to pressure Israel.
Dousa Urges Israel to Allow Humanitarian Aid into Gaza
Dousa Urges Israel to Allow Humanitarian Aid into Gaza
Aid organizations warn of mass starvation as Israel blocks emergency aid from entering Gaza. This situation has prompted Sweden's aid minister, Benjamin Dousa, to speak out.
"Israel needs to take its damned responsibility and let aid from Sweden in," he writes to Expressen.
The severe hunger crisis in Gaza has escalated to a devastating level. In recent days, several children and adults have died of starvation.
Over 100 aid organizations, including Save the Children and Doctors Without Borders, have signed a petition demanding that border crossings to Gaza be opened for humanitarian aid.
"The trucks waiting outside the gates need to be let in immediately, the safety of aid workers ensured, and the extensive forced relocations of civilians must cease immediately," writes aid and foreign trade minister Benjamin Dousa in a statement to Expressen.
"What is happening in Gaza right now is indefensible"
Israeli forces have also killed more than 1,000 Palestinians during food distribution since May, according to the UN's Office for Human Rights.
"What is happening in Gaza right now is indefensible. Children are starving to death, food supplies and aid workers are being attacked. The latest updates are nothing but descriptions of inhumane conditions," Dousa writes in the statement.
Sweden is now trying to gather support in the EU to put pressure on Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government.
"The small glimmer of hope I see right now is that the EU and Israel reached an agreement last week to expand emergency aid to Gaza. That's good, but that agreement must now be implemented," Dousa writes.