UN humanitarian agencies urge Israel to revoke ban on aid groups

Multiple United Nations (UN) humanitarian agencies and international organizations jointly issued a statement on Wednesday, calling on Israel to revoke its ban on the operations of international aid organizations in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.



The statement said that international aid organizations play a central role in humanitarian operations in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, providing nearly one billion dollars in assistance annually.



It noted that in Gaza, with winter worsening families' suffering, high acute food insecurity continuing, and the need for life-saving aid remaining critical, banning aid groups could undermine the fragile progress achieved during the ceasefire and have devastating consequences for vulnerable children, women, and men.



The statement emphasized that humanitarian access is neither optional nor subject to conditions or political considerations, and that it constitutes a legal obligation under international humanitarian law as well as a fundamental requirement for the protection of human rights.