US, UK increase humanitarian aid to Gaza residents

On October 16, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the US and Israel have agreed to develop a plan to provide humanitarian aid to people in the Gaza Strip. Accordingly, this plan is to facilitate humanitarian aid from multilateral organizations and donor countries to reach the people in the Gaza Strip. However, the head of the US diplomatic service did not provide details about the said plan.

Meanwhile, a VNA correspondent in Washington reported that the administration of US President Joe Biden will push for a new arms aid package worth more than $2 billion for Israel and Ukraine. US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that Mr. Biden is expected to have in-depth negotiations with the US Congress this week on the need to approve the aid package. However, it is unclear how the bill will be passed when Congress does not have a Speaker of the House.

On the same day, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that the UK will provide an additional 10 million pounds (about 12 million USD) in aid to Palestinians facing a humanitarian crisis.

Also on October 16, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union (EU) will deploy a humanitarian air corridor to Gaza via Egypt, with the first flights expected this week. Speaking at a press conference in the Albanian capital Tirana, Ms. von der Leyen stated: "The Palestinians in Gaza are in need of humanitarian help and aid. That is why... we will deploy an EU humanitarian air bridge to Gaza via Egypt. The first two flights will start this week."

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) on October 16 warned of the risk of disease outbreaks and spread due to the lack of clean water and the use of contaminated water in the Gaza Strip. UNRWA spokesperson Juliette Touma said that most people in the Gaza Strip still do not have access to clean water, emphasizing that water is “vital” to people at this time.

Earlier the same day, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that water, electricity and fuel in the Gaza Strip are only enough for 24 hours. According to the UN, since the conflict broke out between Israel and Hamas forces on October 7, more than 1 million Palestinians have been forced to evacuate the northern Gaza Strip. The Israeli military said that about 500,000 Israelis living near the Gaza Strip have evacuated to safer places within Israeli territory.

In related developments, many airlines have adjusted their schedules amid the tensions in the Middle East. On October 16, Belgian airline TUI announced the cancellation of all flights to Israel, whether from Belgium or the Netherlands. The cancellations are effective from now until the end of the year. Previously, on October 12, Belgian airline Brussels Airlines also announced the cancellation of all scheduled flights to and from Tel Aviv until at least October 22.

Meanwhile, Swiss national airline Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) said it would suspend flights between Switzerland and the Lebanese capital Beirut until October 28 due to tensions between the Hezbollah group in southern Lebanon and Israel. Accordingly, the above suspension announcement will affect four routes.

SWISS had previously cancelled scheduled flights between Zurich and Tel Aviv and also suspended special repatriation flights in anticipation of a possible Israeli ground attack. About 880 people returned to Switzerland on four such flights.