Austria is now making ten million euros available for the needy population in the Gaza Strip. A corresponding decision will be taken in the Council of Ministers on Wednesday. The money is distributed through the Red Cross, the UN children’s fund UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Of the ten million euros, five million will go to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), three million to UNICEF and two million to the WHO. Since October 7 last year, the country has made a total of 23 million euros available to the needy people in the Gaza Strip. 2.2 million people there, half of whom are children, depend on humanitarian aid.
The situation is “at boiling point”
Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) is currently visiting the headquarters of the Palestinian government in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. At the start of his four-day Middle East tour in Israel, Schallenberg urged alleviating the suffering of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip. The situation there is “at boiling point,” he told reporters on Tuesday after a meeting with his Israeli counterpart Israel Katz. This assured Schallenberg of the creation of further humanitarian corridors.
A solution must also be found for the more than one million refugees in the southern border city of Rafah before the Israeli military offensive begins there.
On the occasion of the aid decision to Gaza, Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler (Greens) also emphasized that the consequences of Hamas terror “must not result in more and more victims.” This increases the risk of further escalation. “The top priority now is to provide people with urgently needed, survival-essential goods such as water, food and medicine. All parties are called upon to fulfill their obligations under international humanitarian law and to protect the civilian population. Aid deliveries to Gaza must be able to pass through quickly. A humanitarian ceasefire is the order of the day,” Kogler said.
“Don’t give a damn about citizens”
Schallenberg is also pushing for a “humanitarian ceasefire,” which he plans to advocate in his talks in the region. “Hamas terrorists do not care about the lives of civilians and deliberately use them as shields. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is catastrophic and this cannot leave anyone unaffected. With another ten million euros we are supporting the crucial work of international organizations on the ground,” said Schallenberg.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
