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UK criticizes delays in Gaza aid

2025-12-02 09:32:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The UK government has criticised delays in allowing aid into Gaza, after a shipment of more than 1,100 tents it sent to the Strip took more than a year to arrive.

The foreign secretary has also raised concerns that other UK-funded aid has been unable to reach residents, despite the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.

Yvette Cooper said the situation in Gaza remains "terrible", while the United Nations warned that 1.5 million people need urgent shelter due to worsening rains and falling temperatures ahead of winter.

The tents, each capable of housing a family of five, arrived in Gaza on Monday, and more are expected to arrive this week.

Government sources said the tents would provide shelter for up to 12,000 people during the winter months. Cooper said the delay in delivering aid to the Strip could not be allowed to continue and that all crossings into the territory must be opened to allow unhindered humanitarian access.

She said: “The situation in Gaza remains dire, with deteriorating weather conditions exacerbating critical problems caused by damaged infrastructure and more than two years of conflict. Parents have been trying to shelter their children under collapsed roofs and in the open air. These tents will provide a lifeline for thousands of people in need of shelter, protecting them from the cold winds and relentless rain that are turning the rubble into mud.”

About 1.9 million people in Gaza, nearly 90% of the population, have been displaced since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict in October 2023, according to the UN.

Cooper said the arrival of aid was welcome, but only one step towards the major reconstruction that is "sorely needed," and she was frustrated to see "another aid shipment stuck at the border" earlier this year.

"This cannot be allowed to continue. The arrival of these tents shows the scale of the potential impact when our aid arrives, and we will continue to do everything we can to promote unhindered humanitarian access, the opening of all crossings, the implementation of the peace plan and a path to peace," she said.

UNICEF Special Representative in the State of Palestine, Jonathan Veitch, said the arrival of the tents "represents months of continuous work by the international community to promote greater access to aid."/CNA, translated by BBC