The European Union and Israel have signed an agreement to expand humanitarian aid access to Gaza, announced the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, in a statement on Thursday.
The agreement includes, among other things, the opening of more crossing points in the northern and southern areas, the "substantial increase" of trucks carrying aid and food into Gaza, the repair of vital infrastructure, including restoring electricity to water desalination facilities, and the reopening of the Jordanian and Egyptian aid routes.
The measures also allow food distribution via bakeries and public kitchens across Gaza, resumption of fuel deliveries to humanitarian facilities, and protection for humanitarian workers.
"These measures are or will be implemented in the coming days, with the common understanding that aid at scale must be delivered directly to the population and that measures will continue to be taken to ensure that there is no aid diversion to Hamas," reads the statement by Kallas.
The EU High Representative noted that the EU stands ready to coordinate with all relevant humanitarian stakeholders, UN agencies and NGOs on the ground, to ensure swift implementation of those urgent steps.
"We count on Israel to implement every measure agreed," Kallas wrote in a social media post.
