Urgent need for humanitarian corridors to Gaza for basic necessities and the case of the NGO Music for Peace

14.10.2024

Question for written answer  E-002063/2024
to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Rule 144
Brando Benifei (S&D), Alessandra Moretti (S&D), Annalisa Corrado (S&D), Marco Tarquinio (S&D), Giorgio Gori (S&D), Cecilia Strada (S&D), Lucia Annunziata (S&D)

The restrictions imposed by the Israeli Government on humanitarian access to Gaza are increasingly becoming a problem for the survival of civilians and constituting a violation of international humanitarian law.

One such example is the NGO Music for Peace, a civil society organisation registered with the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation and active in Gaza for many years. One of its shipments – 80 tonnes of essential goods, with a total value of approximately EUR 800 000 – has remained blocked at the NGO's headquarters in Genoa, Italy since June 2024, due to the lack of support from national and international stakeholders.

On 1 October 2024, the NGO submitted its packing list to Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), via the United Nations Office of Project Services (UNOPS), but the application remains pending. On 2 October, the NGO was then informed of the new restrictive regulations introduced by the Israeli authorities.

Given the grave humanitarian situation in Gaza and the principles of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their 1977 Additional Protocols, can the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy say whether:

He intends to call for the opening of humanitarian corridors as a matter of urgency to allow and facilitate the rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian aid to the civilian population in Gaza?

Submitted: 14.10.2024