The Social Democrats call on the government to send a Swedish aid fleet loaded with food and medicine as soon as possible, which Today’s news was the first to report.
– We have already had a situation where you have been able to unload supplies via the sea corridor that is about to be opened. Then we think that Sweden should also make use of it, he says and continues:
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– It is not the first time that Sweden carries out rescue operations and assists with supplies at fairly urgent stages.
According to a recent UN-backed report from IPC 1.1 million of Gaza’s population are said to be suffering from “catastrophic hunger”.
The government wants to wait for EU initiatives
The effort should be financed through the aid budget, believes Johansson, without mentioning any specific figure. It is up to the government to “count on”.
– We have a lot of money set aside for Sida’s aid activities. This is one of the major international disasters right now, so it should be prioritized.
The Minister for International Development: “Discussions are underway”
When SVT asks Aid Minister Johan Forssell (M) about the opposition’s proposal, he does not comment on it specifically, but writes that the government has increased humanitarian aid by 400 million since October.
“There have been discussions for some time now about the establishment of a maritime corridor from Cyprus, and Sweden is already actively participating in those discussions,” he writes and continues:
“At the same time, it is clear that the only entry route that can meet the scale of the humanitarian needs is to increase access via land. Neither by sea nor by air comes close to what is needed”.
Morgan Johansson on potential risks with the effort, in the clip above.