The UAE, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan and Turkey have issued a statement expressing concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza amid a harsh winter and a lack of aid.
The eight nations, all involved in Gaza mediation efforts and the US-led peace plan for the Palestinian territory, demanded that Israel ensure the UN and international NGOs “are able to operate in Gaza and the West Bank in a sustained, predictable, and unrestricted manner, given their integral role in the humanitarian response in the strip”.
The countries emphasised that any attempt to impede these organisations' work is “unacceptable”.
Israel has further tightened measures by introducing new registration rules that require international NGOs to submit a list of their Palestinian employees to the Israeli Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Anti-Semitism, in contravention of European privacy laws.
As a result, Israel has said it will ban more than 37 NGOs from operating in Gaza, the occuoied West Bank and East Jerusalem as of January 1, with a 60-day period before they are required to completely cease operations.
"INGOs cannot transfer sensitive personal data to a party to the conflict since this would breach humanitarian principles, duty of care and data protection obligations," 53 international aid agencies said in a statement on Friday.
They accused Israel of making a "deliberate policy choice with foreseeable consequences".
Heavy rainfall, storms and a severe shortage in weatherproof shelters for almost two million people have all exacerbated the situation, as Israel continues to prevent aid from entering in the amount stipulated by the October ceasefire.
The eight nations criticised the “slow pace of the entry of essential materials required for the rehabilitation of basic services and the establishment of temporary housing”.
Many Gazans are forced to take shelter from winter storms in flimsy tents that routinely flood and are easily torn apart by strong wind. Demand for sturdier shelters has surged as conditions worsen, with damaged buildings collapsing and prolonged malnutrition, particularly among children, contributing to weakened immunity and the spread of disease.
The eight nations commended the work being done by the UN, including the agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), which has the largest aid network in Gaza but has been banned by Israel from operating in the strip and the occupied West Bank.
The countries highlighted that, as an occupying power, Israel is obliged to protect and preserve the needs of people in occupied territories, including by providing medical assistance, clean water, fuel and sanitation support.
One in four families survive on just one meal a day, the aid groups' joint statement said.
"INGOs deliver more than half of all food assistance in Gaza, run or support 60 per cent of field hospitals, implement nearly three-quarters of shelter and non-food item activities, and provide all treatment for children with severe acute malnutrition," it said.
Materials necessary for rebuilding Gaza's devastated infrastructure, such as sewerage pipes, have been prevented from entry on the basis that Israel believes they can be used for military purposes.
The lack of sewer infrastructure, coupled with heavy rains, has led to sewage water seeping into tents, carrying waterborne diseases and raising concerns of the spread of cholera.
Israel has also breached the ceasefire by opening the vital Rafah border crossing with Egypt only in one direction: out of Gaza.
The eight nations called for “the rehabilitation of infrastructure and hospitals, and the opening of the Rafah crossing in both directions” as stipulated by the peace plan.
