The key facts

  • More than 150,000 tents await Israeli permission to enter Gaza; this excludes 117,000 tents of the Egyptian Aid Committee in El-Arish
  • UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher called waiting for the formation of an Israeli government an 'unacceptable excuse'
  • No wastewater treatment plant in Gaza is operating; flooding is worsening the sanitation crisis

Tents are standing at the borders of the Strip

More than 150,000 tents purchased by humanitarian partners and UN member states are awaiting Israel's permission to enter the Gaza Strip. Deputy Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Farhan Haq announced this at a briefing for journalists on Wednesday. He stressed that this figure does not include another 117,000 tents of the Egyptian Aid Committee located in El-Arish.

The problem is permits, not money

Answering a question about what is needed to deliver the tents, Haq said: 'Ultimately, we need the Israeli authorities to cooperate and grant permits so that we can bring these tents in.' According to him, some problems are related to funding for transportation, but in this case it is specifically about the necessary permits. The speed of delivery after permits are obtained, he added, depends on access to checkpoints and the speed of procedures: 'They are right on the other side, and we are ready to bring them in as soon as we receive the permits.'

Fletcher: waiting for a new government is no excuse

The UN's humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said on Wednesday that waiting for the formation of a new Israeli government is an 'unacceptable excuse' for delays in delivering winter essentials. According to him, foreign ministers and partners have repeatedly said that progress would be difficult before the Israeli elections, and now the UN is being asked to wait for a government to be formed. 'If anyone has any doubts about international humanitarian law: this is an unacceptable excuse, as the international community and the Security Council have made clear,' the UN quoted his statement as saying.

Supply plan and call to open crossings

Fletcher said the UN has presented a plan of necessary supplies: durable shelters, warm clothing, blankets, bedding, safe heating solutions, as well as generators, fuel, motor oil, spare parts and equipment for pumping water, clearing rubble and clearing explosive ordnance. 'No more delays. Open all the crossings, not just one. Let our key NGO partners work. Allow commercial markets to function. Stop this collective punishment. Fund the plan. Put an end to this predictable, preventable suffering. The world is not powerless here,' he said.

Flooding worsens the sanitation crisis

Haq also reported, citing UNICEF, that flooding over the weekend is worsening the war-induced sanitation crisis: no wastewater treatment plant in Gaza is currently operating. In Gaza City, rainwater mixed with sewage threatens to overflow the Sheikh Radwan stormwater basin, where only two of six pumps are working. UNICEF has been seeking permission from the Israeli authorities for over a year to bring in equipment to repair the facility. 'Urgent humanitarian funding and Israeli permits are needed so that enough supplies and equipment can be delivered to Gaza,' Haq added.