Humanitarian aid in Gaza 'drop in the ocean': Red Cross needs 'expanded operation', end to conflict

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00:00Now, one month ago, the Biden administration called on Israel to allow greater humanitarian

00:04access into Gaza.

00:06Officials were given a 30-day deadline and a warning that failure to comply could trigger

00:10U.S. laws requiring Washington to scale back military support.

00:15Now, with that deadline expiring, international aid organizations say conditions are worse

00:19now than at any point during the 13-month conflict.

00:23We can now bring in Tomaso De La Longa, spokesperson at the International Federation of the Red

00:29Cross.

00:30Thank you so much for joining us here on France 24 today.

00:34What are you hearing from your teams on the ground?

00:36Has anything improved over the past month?

00:38So, first of all, thanks for having me today.

00:42No, nothing has improved.

00:43And the situation actually is getting worse minute after minute, day after day.

00:49What Palestinian colleagues are telling us from Gaza is that basically now the focus

00:56is in the northern part of Gaza, where access is extremely limited, the movement of people

01:02is extremely limited, and even evacuating patients from the north to Gaza City or the

01:06south is almost impossible.

01:08And we are talking about a situation where there is no access for food, for water, for

01:13health support, medicine.

01:14So even the few hospitals that are still barely operational don't have anymore the basic to

01:19go ahead.

01:20Tomaso, last year we were talking about how Gaza needed about 400 tucks a day of aid to

01:25go in.

01:26How much aid is Gaza getting today?

01:28Well, a drop in the ocean.

01:32We're talking about hundreds of trucks.

01:36I can tell you that Palestinian colleagues have received in the last, I think, two months

01:41and a half, less than a hundred trucks.

01:43So of course, it's a drop in the ocean is not even, I mean, of course, it's a positive

01:49that still there is a corridor open, but it's not really helpful for the people.

01:54And now we're also talking about winter that is almost at our doors, and needs like shelter,

02:00mattresses, blankets are really critical, life-saving.

02:03And if they're not there, simply people will continue suffering.

02:07And Tomaso, why is the aid not going in?

02:09Why is it being stopped?

02:10On what grounds?

02:11Well, the situation, you know, it's the bigger picture of this situation is that since the

02:19Rafah border has been closed a few months ago, and since the operation of humanitarian

02:24aid entering from Egypt to Palestine has been stopped, of course, the number of trucks entering

02:29has been very limited.

02:30Now, as in every crisis situation, agreements needs to be made between parties to make sure

02:38that humanitarian aid will go ahead, but also that there is a safe access and safe condition

02:44to operate.

02:45And this is what is not happening in Gaza at all in the last months, but I would say

02:49in the last year.

02:50When you're talking about safe access, are you referring to looting?

02:53Because of course, you said that the aid that has gone in over the past few months has been

02:57a drop in the ocean.

02:58This, of course, is creating a desperate situation for people on the ground.

03:03So I imagine looting is also a problem.

03:06Looting, of course, is part of the problem and is the icon of the desperation of people

03:09inside Gaza.

03:11But when I'm talking about safe and uninherited access, it means that we need to be able to

03:15enter everywhere in Gaza with a way bigger humanitarian operation.

03:22And then we need to create that space where humanitarian workers are safe and doing their

03:26work, but also civilians are safe to get what they need.

03:29And sadly, it's again, it's not happening in Gaza.

03:32And the frustrating part for all the humanitarian sector is that there's been a year that we

03:36are keeping repeating the same calls, but sadly, they are all unheard.

03:40Now, Israel says it's open, a fifth border crossing.

03:45What do you respond to this?

03:47Well, of course, until when there will be even one border open, it's a positive sign

03:54because it means that there is still a space for some humanitarian aid entering in and

03:59for some dialogue between parties.

04:02But what we need, it's really an expanded operation inside Gaza Strip.

04:07And basically, the bottom line is that we need the conflict to stop.

04:11So then we create that safety condition that I was talking before.

04:16We can bring, I mean, hostages need to go back home and people can get what they need.

04:22But sadly, we are very far from seeing this in the field.

04:26It does seem so.

04:27Let's talk about fuel to muzzle, because of course, stockpiles have been limited.

04:32Electricity is virtually non-existent in the Gaza Strip.

04:35What does this mean for hospitals working on the ground?

04:39Thanks a lot for this question, because fuel in the Gaza Strip, it's really a lifesaving

04:43item.

04:44So fuel for hospital means the difference between life and death of many, if not thousands.

04:50Without fuel, generator will not operate and without generator, there is no surgery, there

04:55is no intensive care unit, there is nothing inside an hospital, not even a refrigerator

05:00for some medicine, for some vaccines, for some treatments.

05:03So without fuel, hospitals will close.

05:06And sadly, it's what we have been seeing again in the last year because of fuel, because

05:10of lack of safety, because of siege around the hospital, because of no medicine entering

05:15in and out, no ambulances entering in and out in the hospitals.

05:19Tommaso, thank you so much for joining us on the program today.

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