Concerns remain of Gaza aid routes, new crossings needed says UN

By Nathan Morley

The United Nations and aid agencies have expressed doubt that Israel’s promises to open more aid routes into Gaza will be enough to ease the plight of starving Palestinians.

The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, said ‘scattered measures’ were not enough, whilst the children’s agency, UNICEF, said pledges of new crossings into Gaza needed to become reality.

In Berlin, the government warned Israel that they had ‘no more excuses’ to delay the entry of humanitarian supplies.

Earlier this week reports from Jerusalem suggested the Erez crossing would be temporarily reopened for the first time since Hamas launched its surprise attack on Israel last year.

At the same time, a statement from Prime Minister Netanyahu's office said Ashdod would also receive shipments of aid to Gaza, and Jordanian aid would be delivered in increased volumes through the land-crossing at Kerem Shalom.

Britain has echoed the calls of the charity World Central Kitchen for an independent review of an Israeli drone strike on a convoy of the organization's vehicles.

The attack on Monday killed seven aid workers, including three UK nationals. The British Foreign Secretary, David Cameron, said London would ‘carefully review’ the initial report by the Israeli military.

The World Central Kitchen said an independent investigation was the only way to determine the truth of what happened, ensure transparency and accountability for those responsible, and prevent future attacks on humanitarian aid workers.

Earlier, Israel acknowledged the attack on the air workers was a result of a ‘series of failures.’