Israel must immediately reopen the Kerem Shalom and the Rafah Crossings into Gaza to allow for the entry of humanitarian assistance, the United Nations and the White House said on Tuesday.
“The crossings that have been closed need to reopen, it is unacceptable for them to be closed,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters in Washington.
UN and other international aid agencies said the closures had virtually cut the enclave off from outside aid and very few stores of food were available inside.
Red Crescent sources in Egypt said shipments had completely halted.
The Rafah crossing into Egypt was also the only exit point for those needing to leave Gaza for medical treatment no longer available in the enclave.
The UN warned that Gaza could run out of fuel unless action was taken, fuel that is needed to sustain communications networks and transportation.
Jean-Pierre said that Israel had promised that Kerem Shalom would re-open and that fuel shipment through Rafah would resume on Wednesday.
“We believe the Rafah border crossing should also be quickly reopened for the movement of humanitarian assistance. We are insisting that there should be no disruptions of humanitarian assistance flows,” she said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed to reporters in New York that, “The closure of both the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings is especially damaging to an already dire humanitarian situation.” They must be re-opened immediately.”
The IDF closed Kerem Shalom, the main crossing from Israel to Gaza which serves as the main entry point for commercial goods, after a Hamas rocket attack killed four soldiers there on Sunday.
Netanyahu assures the crossing will open
The Rafah crossing was shut down after Israel seized the Palestinian side of the passageway between Egypt and Gaza.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised US President Joe Biden on Monday that he would reopen Kerem Shalom, but according to the UN, as of Tuesday, no action had been taken on that.
Guterres said he wanted to “remind Israel of its obligation to facilitate the safe and unimpeded access of humanitarian aid and staff into and across Gaza.”
Andrea De Domenico, who heads the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Palestinian territories, said that Israel said the crossings would be reopened but had not given a date for the resumption of aid.
The problems created by the closure of the crossing were compounded by steps the IDF took starting Monday to begin evacuating civilians from Rafah. There are over 1.3 million Palestinians in that area, many of whom fled there to avoid bombings in the north at the start of the war, and for whom it is unrealistic to return.
In Geneva, UN humanitarian office spokesperson Jens Laerke said “panic and despair” were gripping the people in Rafah.
He said that under international law people must have adequate time to prepare for an evacuation, and have a safe route to a safe area with access to aid. This was not the case in the Rafah evacuation, he said.
“It’s littered with unexploded ordnance, massive bombs lying in the street. It’s not safe,” he said.Reuters contributed to this report.