Delivered by
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk

At
Geneva

Israel’s suspension of numerous aid agencies from Gaza is outrageous.

This is the latest in a pattern of unlawful restrictions on humanitarian access, including Israel’s ban on UNRWA (the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East), as well as attacks on Israeli and Palestinian NGOs amid broader access issues faced by the UN and other humanitarians.

I urge all States, in particular those with influence, to take urgent steps and insist that Israel immediately allows aid to get into Gaza unhindered. Such arbitrary suspensions make an already intolerable situation even worse for the people of Gaza.