Israel has told the EU that it will allow aid funded by the bloc for essential services to enter Gaza for the first time in a year.
EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica received a pledge from Israel Foreign Minister Gideon Saar that aid worth €43 million ($49 million) for essential services – including water pumps to restore running water – would be allowed into the war-torn enclave.
“Mr Saar promised Commissioner Suica that the material necessary for this project will enter Gaza,” diplomatic sources said. “This is the first time we have early recovery projects implemented for Gaza.”
The announcement of the EU's project was made on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York and is an important step for European diplomacy after months of tensions with Israel.
European capitals are closely watching its implementation – to be carried out by the UN. The project aims to reduce Gazans' exposure to wastewater and the spread of disease caused by waste piling up in the streets.
If successful, it could pave the way for more EU-financed recovery projects as part of the bloc's €900 million Team Gaza Initiative, launched in July, to support early recovery in the enclave and restore basic services.
Close co-ordination
The initiative was announced by the EU's Palestine Donor Group, a parallel effort to the US-led Board of Peace, which the bloc has declined to join, citing political differences. That has not stopped Europeans from being in contact with the US-led board. Ms Suica has attended its meetings and maintained relations with Mr Saar, who she recently met in Jerusalem.
“Given the massive early recovery needs in Gaza, close co-ordination is essential,” Ms Suica said in New York at a Board of Peace briefing. “We are working with the US, regional and international partners, Israeli authorities and Palestinian institutions to create the conditions to deliver on the ground.”
The Board of Peace this week unveiled a six-month recovery plan to start rebuilding Gaza, saying it would need $2.45 billion to implement its first 66 projects. It remains unclear where in Gaza those projects will take place.
Europeans continue to support a reformed Palestinian Authority to eventually take over Gaza. Many view with suspicion the technocratic Cairo-based Palestinian administration committee that was set up as part of the Board of Peace to eventually govern Gaza.
It has so far not been able to enter the enclave where low-level hostilities continue despite a nearly year-long ceasefire brokered by the US. Neither Israel nor Hamas have agreed on key concessions on demilitarisation and troop withdrawal.
Washington granted the committee's head, Ali Shaath, a visa to attend the UN General Assembly, but refused for the second year in a row to allow Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to join the meeting of world leaders in New York. The two bodies do not co-ordinate.
In June, Mr Saar broke off relations with the EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. Mr Saar cited private comments on Israel subjecting Palestinians to apartheid policies, an accusation widely held by rights groups and Palestinians but rejected by the Israeli government and its allies.
Last summer, Ms Kallas's negotiations with Mr Saar allowed more humanitarian aid lorries into Gaza, but the deal did not constitute a broader agreement for reconstruction supplies.
Since the start of the war in October 2023, Israel has blocked the delivery of aid into Gaza over long periods. Dual-use products such as tents and pumps, which Israel believes could be used by armed groups such as Hamas, are particularly restricted.
Gaza’s recovery and reconstruction needs are estimated at $71.5 billion, according to the UN.
