European Commission calls on Israel to lift restrictions on aid deliveries to Gaza

The European Commission has called on Israel to lift restrictions on the delivery of aid to Gaza, one week after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into force.

The agreement, brokered by US President Donald Trump, stipulates that Israel must grant passage to 600 aid trucks daily.

So far, Israel has limited the flow of aid with authorities only allowing the entry of half the agreed-upon amount daily.

Israel says that's in response to Hamas allegedly breaching the truce agreement by returning the bodies of deceased Israeli hostages too slowly.

For instance, 319 tonnes of shelter items sent through the EU Humanitarian Air Bridge (HAB), including tents and winter kits, are still waiting to enter Gaza from warehouses in Amman and Al-Arish, the Commission told Euronews.

A spokesperson for the Commission says there are many bureaucratic obstacles hampering NGOs' ability to distribute aid, such as the current registration criteria imposed by Israel which can lead to the deregistration of some organisations.

"We need to get more food in," Eva Hrncirova, European Commission spokesperson told Euronews.

"We cooperate, for example, with World Food Programme, a UN partner. World Food Programme has about 170,000 tonnes of food ready to be delivered to Gaza and this would be enough for three months for all the population of Gaza to have nutrition," she said.

NGOs and international organisations have begun increasing delivery efforts, the Commission says. The UN has lifted the staff ceiling in Gaza to allow agencies to deploy more staff and the World Food Programme is maximising cargo inflow to Gaza to enhance nutrition programs and support bakeries, which can now supply 105,000 people with 2 kgs bread bundles every day.

The EU has three humanitarian warehouses in Gaza, the Commission adds. The Daraj warehouse in North Gaza was evacuated in September 2025 and can no longer be operated, while stocks have been transferred to the operational Musadar and Zawayda warehouses.

"The needs in Gaza are immense. We have famine which means that basically everything is needed now. Obviously priority is food, nutrition, but also hygiene, medical, obviously equipment, healthcare, water. We also try to get in fuel to be able to power the services," Hrncirova said.

The European Commission also demanded access to Gaza for its staff and urged Israeli authorities to open all crossing points into Gaza.

It noted that of the four main ones, only two are currently open: Kerem Shalom and Kissufim, both located in the southern part of Gaza.