BRUSSELS

Belgium's Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot on Wednesday called on Israel to remove restrictions on humanitarian access in the Palestinian territories, emphasizing that providing aid should not be "conditional or politicized."

Prevot criticized Israel's plans to block international non-governmental organizations in Gaza, referring to the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) assertion that Israel has an unconditional obligation under international humanitarian law to ensure the unhindered delivery of aid to civilians.

"Professional humanitarian actors like UNRWA and INGOs funded by Belgium comply with the highest standards of transparency, impartiality and independence," he said on US social media platform X, urging Israel to cooperate with all humanitarian actors "in good faith, based on clear and non-politicized criteria, to maximize the delivery of aid in Palestine."

"I urge the Government of Israel to remove all humanitarian access constraints, and to honour the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict," Prevot added.

Despite the ceasefire agreement taking effect in October, Israel continues to keep Gaza’s crossings largely closed, preventing the entry of mobile homes and reconstruction materials and worsening the humanitarian crisis affecting over 2 million people.

Palestinian officials say that at least 414 people in Gaza have been killed since the ceasefire.