Fury Over Thousands of Tonnes of Food Aid Stuck in Warehouse
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper expressed her anger and frustration after visiting a World Food Programme (WFP) depot in Amman, Jordan, where 5,000 pallets of aid meant for Gaza are stuck due to Israeli restrictions.
Details of the Aid Blockage
Approximately 4,000 metric tonnes of essential supplies, including wheat flour, tinned goods, yeast, and sugar, are languishing in the warehouse. This aid could sustain many starving Palestinians, but it remains trapped because Israel has closed the key crossing from Jordan into the West Bank to goods vehicles.
Officials report that there is enough aid in Jordan to send 150 trucks into Gaza daily, five days a week, for three months, yet the blockade continues.
Statements from Yvette Cooper
“We've got UK funded aid that needs to go to Gaza and it's being held up here in Jordan.”
“The wheat alone in this warehouse could feed 700,000 people for a month and yet we've got children in Gaza who are still going hungry. That is wrong and it has to be fixed.”
“That's why I'm calling for the Jordanian route into Gaza to be reopened.”
“I'm calling for the reopening of all the crossings and to make sure that we can get this aid flooded back into Gaza, because frankly the people of Gaza can't wait.”
“It just feels so deeply wrong. You just feel so frustrated and angry to see that we've got food that could be reaching families but currently isn't.”
Calls to Action
- Reopen the Jordanian route into Gaza
- Reopen all crossings to ensure the delivery of vital humanitarian aid
The Foreign Secretary emphasizes the urgent need to allow this aid to reach those in desperate need in Gaza immediately.
Author's Summary
Yvette Cooper condemns the Israeli-imposed blockade that leaves thousands of tonnes of crucial aid stuck in Jordan, demanding immediate reopening of crossings to alleviate hunger in Gaza.