Constraints on humanitarian aid in Gaza
“The multifaceted constraints on humanitarian assistance in Gaza are indescribable. The level of humanitarian impact is also indescribable,” Spoljaric said.
“There are not enough arrangements in place to provide the necessary security guarantees for the relocation,” she added.
She noted that military operational fronts collide with humanitarian supplies, compounding the challenges for humanitarian workers trying to bring in supplies.
“Everything is missing,” she added.
“We have to protect civilians. We can't operate close to civilians unless they have a place to go, a place where they're safe, where they can get what they need, where they have the possibility of being recognized as human beings. This is very difficult to achieve in Gaza right now,” she said.
Climate change and humanitarian aid
Spoljaric also spoke of the “vicious cycle” between climate change and violence in the areas where the ICRC works.
She noted that lack of rain, for example, could increase food insecurity and make people “more likely to resort to violence to survive,” as a large portion of the population may depend on agriculture and livestock farming.
“We cannot rule out the impacts of climate change, conflict trends and so on. These are everyday realities that we have to deal with,” she said.
She added that areas where armed violence is likely to occur or is already occurring need large-scale investments in health and climate change adaptation.
Investing in agriculture is also crucial, she added. She gave examples such as providing more efficient water systems and working with farmers to adopt more sustainable practices.
“Delivering food bags and trucking water is one of the most inefficient and unsustainable ways of providing humanitarian assistance in protracted conflict situations,” she said.
