In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK recalled the “catastrophic” humanitarian situation in the besieged enclave.
They said conditions in Gaza remain appalling and are being further aggravated by winter, with 1.3 million people still in urgent need of shelter assistance.
The ministers pointed to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report published earlier this month as confirmation that the situation remains desperate.
The statement expressed appreciation for the ceasefire in Gaza but stressed that it does not erase the suffering of the civilian population.
Meanwhile, the ministers called on the Israeli regime to ensure that the United Nations, its partners and non-governmental organizations can continue their vital work, and to lift what they described as unreasonable restrictions on imports labelled as having dual use.
They warned that many long-established international NGO partners face the risk of deregistration due to Israel’s restrictive new requirements.
The statement said deregistration could lead to the forced closure of humanitarian operations within 60 days in Gaza and the West Bank.
“This would have a severe impact on access to essential services including healthcare,” the statement said.
Separately, the ministers underlined that ensuring the UN and its partners can continue their vital work is “essential” for the impartial, neutral and independent delivery of aid throughout Gaza.
“This includes UNRWA, which provides essential services, such as healthcare and education, to millions of Palestinian refugees,” they said.
The statement also urged Tel Aviv to open crossings and increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
“The target of 4,200 trucks per week, including an allocation of 250 UN trucks per day, should be a floor not a ceiling,” it said.
It added that these targets should be lifted to ensure vital supplies enter Gaza at the scale required.
The ministers said ongoing restrictions imposed by the Israeli regime continue to limit the delivery of aid in line with international humanitarian law and obstruct repairs needed for recovery and reconstruction.
“We now urge the (regime) of Israel to remove these humanitarian access constraints, and to deliver and honour the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict,” the statement said.
Despite the ceasefire, Israel continues to keep Gaza’s crossings largely closed, blocking the entry of mobile homes and reconstruction materials and deepening the crisis affecting more than 2 million people.
Palestinian officials say at least 414 people in Gaza have been killed since the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas took place on Oct. 10.
Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed more than 71,000 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children, leaving Gaza largely uninhabitable.