LONDON — The foreign ministers of 10 nations on Tuesday expressed "serious concerns" about a "renewed deterioration of the humanitarian situation" in Gaza, saying the situation was "catastrophic".

 

"As winter draws in, civilians in Gaza are facing appalling conditions with heavy rainfall and temperatures dropping," the ministers of Britain, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland said in a joint statement released by the UK's Foreign Office.

 

"1.3 million people still require urgent shelter support. More than half of health facilities are only partially functional and face shortages of essential medical equipment and supplies. The total collapse of sanitation infrastructure has left 740,000 people vulnerable to toxic flooding," the statement added.

 

The ministers said they welcomed the progress that had been made to end the bloodshed in Gaza and secure the release of Israeli hostages.

 

"However we will not lose focus on the plight of civilians in Gaza," they said, calling on the government of Israel to take a string of "urgent and essential" steps.

 

These included ensuring that international NGOs could operate in Gaza in a "sustained and predictable" way.

 

"As 31 December approaches, many established international NGO partners are at risk of being deregistered because of the government of Israel’s restrictive new requirements," the statement said.

 

It also called for the UN and its partners be able to continue their work in Gaza and for the lifting of "unreasonable restricts on imports considered to have a dual use".

 

This included medical and shelter equipment.

 

The foreign ministers also called for the opening of crossings to boost the flows of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

 

While welcoming the partial opening of the Allenby crossing, they said other corridors for moving goods remained closed or severely restricted for humanitarian aid including Rafah.

 

"Bureaucratic customs processes and extensive screenings are causing delays, while commercial cargo is being allowed in more freely," the statement said.

 

"The target of 4,200 trucks per week, including an allocation of 250 UN trucks per day, should be a floor not a ceiling. These targets should be lifted so we can be sure the vital supplies are getting in at the vast scale needed," it added.