The situation in Gaza
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is worsening as aid and fuel deliveries to the Palestinian territory are cut to a minimum following Israel’s ground offensive in the city of Rafah. The UN has suspended food distribution in Rafah due to lack of supplies and insecurity (https://www.softcatala.org/resum-de-textos-en-catala/). Delivery operations from the new US-funded floating dock have also ground to a halt after desperate people seized most of the shipment unloaded onto trucks on Saturday, killing one person.
The need for humanitarian aid
According to the UN, 1.1 million people in the Gaza Strip face catastrophic levels of hunger and the territory is on the brink of a food crisis. Israel has come under international pressure to allow more supplies into the besieged coastal enclave. Even the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has threatened arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (https://www.softcatala.org/resum-de-textos -in Catalan/).
The difficulties in the delivery of aid
Only 50 aid trucks a day can reach the neediest areas in northern Gaza through the Erez crossing between the territory and Israel. This figure is well below the threshold of 600 trucks per day that aid agencies consider necessary. Since May 10, only about three dozen trucks have been successfully delivered through the Kerem Shalom crossing, through which most aid flows into Gaza.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s reaction
The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been upset by Spain’s recognition of Palestine, describing it as a “prize to terrorism”. He criticized the announcement by Spain, Ireland and Norway to recognize the Palestinian state and said that this action cannot support terrorism. Netanyahu has claimed that the majority of Palestinians in the West Bank support the terrible massacre of October 7, perpetrated by Hamas, and has warned that a Palestinian state would be a state of terror (https://www.softcatala.org/resum -of-texts-in-Catalan/).