53 countries and organisations call for unrestricted aid access to Gaza ahead of winter
Fifty-three countries and organisations, in a joint statement led by the United Kingdom, Qatar and Jordan and delivered at the United Nations on Thursday, have called on Israel's incoming government to open all crossings and allow humanitarian and medical aid into Gaza without restrictions as winter approaches. The statement says the full assistance promised under the plan endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2803 — at levels no lower than those agreed on 19 January 2025 — 'has not yet been realized', and warns that far too many people in Gaza still lack adequate shelter and risk hypothermia and preventable illness.
Key points
- Delivered at the UN on Thursday by the UK ambassador, for 53 countries and organisations; led by the UK, Qatar and Jordan.
- The statement: aid at the levels promised under Resolution 2803 'has not yet been realized'.
- Its calls: open all crossings, admit shelter, fuel and medical supplies, restore medical referrals to East Jerusalem and the West Bank, protect health workers.
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- UNICEF estimates 1.7 million people in Gaza are in tents, makeshift shelters or damaged buildings as winter nears.
What happened
The call is addressed to Israel's incoming government, formed after last month's elections, and it lands a day after the UN's humanitarian chief publicly refused the argument that aid must wait for that government. The signatories include states on several sides of the region's politics — among them Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, France and the State of Palestine — speaking in one text.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- That the statement was delivered at the UN on Thursday, who led it, and what it asks for — from its own published text.
What we don't know yet
- Israel's incoming government's response — none was in the reporting read.
- Whether crossing access or the admitted-items list will change before winter — the statement asks; it cannot compel.
- How much aid is currently entering against the 19 January 2025 levels — the statement says the promised level is unrealised but gives no current figure.
Claim by claim
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Why this label: The statement itself, published by the UK government, is the primary source; the count of 53 is The National's and IRNA's count of the signatory list the statement carries.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The words are the statement's own, read in the published text.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The calls are the statement's own text; IRNA's report of the statement matches the published text.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Fletcher's words and the UNICEF estimates are carried as The National reported them from the UN on Wednesday and Thursday.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why it matters
Winter is the deadline in this statement: shelter and fuel that do not arrive before the cold and the flooding become a health emergency for a population UNICEF counts mostly in tents. Fifty-three signatories cannot open a crossing — but the statement fixes, in one place and on the record, what was promised under Resolution 2803 and what has not yet happened.
Background
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The aid levels the statement uses as its benchmark are agreed.
The ceasefire begins; the Comprehensive Plan the statement cites is later endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2803.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher criticises delays in winter supplies.
The Call to Action statement is delivered at the UN in New York.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Published. Basis: the joint statement's own published text, with The National and IRNA in agreement.