Twenty-two countries including Denmark have demanded that Israel immediately "allow a full resumption of aid into Gaza" after the partial lifting of its blockade on the territory.
The foreign ministers of the countries said that "whilst we acknowledge indications of a limited restart of aid, Israel blocked humanitarian aid entering Gaza for over two months".
The statement said that "food, medicines and essential supplies are exhausted" and that "the population faces starvation".
"Gaza's people must receive the aid they desperately need," it added.
The statement was signed by Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK and also backed by the EU.
The joint statement was released as the United Nations said nine aid trucks were authorised to enter Gaza, describing it as a "drop in the ocean" amid the territory's humanitarian crisis.
Around 500 trucks carrying humanitarian aid and commercial goods entered the Gaza Strip every day in the period before the war, The New York Times has reported.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a Facebook post that Israel must allow access for humanitarian aid.
“The people of Gaza lack access to water, food, and essential medicine. Tragically, that includes far too many children,” she wrote.
“Israel’s announcement that it will allow limited deliveries of basic aid is not enough. At the same time, Israel should halt its ongoing military operation in Gaza,” Frederiksen said.
“Denmark has from the outset condemned Hamas’s terrorist attack on Israel on October 7th 2023. We have called for the release of the remaining hostages, and I have stressed Israel’s right to defend itself within the framework of international law,” the PM also wrote in the post.
“But that does not justify the blockade of humanitarian aid that the Israeli government has maintained for more than two months. It is unacceptable,” she said.
Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen also commented following the release of the joint statement.
“Israel has blocked humanitarian aid to Gaza for more than two months. The situation is deeply alarming. Israel must immediately ensure full access and allow the UN to save lives in Gaza in accordance with humanitarian principles,” Rasmussen said in a statement posted on X.
The 22-country statement also sharply rejected a reported Israeli plan to replace the previous system of aid distribution in Gaza.
The statement demanded that Israel "enable the UN and humanitarian organisations to work independently and impartially to save lives".
"We also reiterate our firm message that Hamas must immediately release all remaining hostages and allow humanitarian assistance to be distributed without interference," the statement went on.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, the bloc's commissioner in charge of crisis management, Hadja Lahbib, as well as Dubravka Suica, the commissioner for the Mediterranean, all signed the statement alongside the foreign ministers from each of the signatory countries.
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