Colombian president urges Trump, European leaders to ensure aid delivery to Gaza amid Israeli blockade

Colombian President Gustavo Petro urged US President Donald Trump and European leaders Thursday to take immediate action to ensure the delivery of food and humanitarian aid to Gaza as Palestinians face starvation under an Israeli blockade.

“Trump must understand that he will not be able to start any peace plan if food does not immediately enter the population of Gaza,” Petro wrote on the US social media company X’s platform.

Trump's 20-point plan, unveiled Monday at the White House alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calls for an end to hostilities, the release of hostages, and the establishment of a transitional authority to govern Gaza.

The Colombian leader warned that there could be no peace if people continue to die from starvation.

On Wednesday, Petro ordered the expulsion of Colombia's entire Israeli diplomatic delegation in response to the detention of two Colombian nationals aboard a flotilla attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Israeli naval forces attacked the Global Sumud Flotilla bound for the besieged Gaza Strip and detained more than 450 activists on board, according to its organizers.

According to the International Committee to Break the Siege on Gaza (ICBSG), the vessel Marinette remains en route to Gaza.

“There are still ships arriving in Gaza. Do not stop them. Force food to arrive from the world,” Petro said.

“The USA and Europe will lose all notion of freedom and democracy if they allow people to remain kidnapped just because they brought food to a hungry people,” he stressed.

Petro urged the Hague Group to call for a “worldwide general strike.”

The group, a coalition of Colombia, South Africa, Bolivia, Cuba, Honduras, Malaysia, Namibia and Senegal, was founded in January in the Netherlands with the goal of holding Israel accountable under international law.

Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza, home to nearly 2.4 million people, for nearly 18 years and further tightened the siege in March, when it closed border crossings and blocked food and medicine deliveries, pushing the enclave into famine.

Since October 2023, Israeli bombardments have killed more than 66,200 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

The UN and rights groups have repeatedly warned that the enclave is being rendered uninhabitable, with starvation and disease spreading rapidly.