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The United Nations (UN) has unveiled what it says is a “detailed” and “tested” plan to send a “surge” of aid to Gaza over 60 days once the ceasefire deal is cleared.
UN head of humanitarian operations Tom Fletcher said on Thursday (local time) the plan, which involves delivering 170,000 metric tonnes of food, medicine and supplies to Gaza, was ready to be executed.
“Our supplies, 170,000 metric tons, food, medicine and other supplies, are in place. And our team, courageous and expert and determined, are in place,” Fletcher told UN reporters by video link from Saudi Arabia.
It comes as Israel’s government ratified a ceasefire — part of a 20-point peace plan — with the Palestinian military and political group Hamas, clearing the way to suspend hostilities in Gaza within 24 hours and free Israeli hostages held in Gaza within 72 hours after that.
The first stage of the ceasefire deal will allow increased humanitarian aid to enter the besieged strip.
Fletcher said the UN aimed to “scale up” supplies entering the strip to “hundreds of trucks every day”.
“We will aim to increase the pipeline of supplies to hundreds of trucks every day. We will scale up the provision of food across Gaza to reach 2.1 million people who need food aid and around 500,000 people who need nutrition,” he said.
Israel’s bombardment of Gaza — sparked after Hamas-led fighters launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023 — has plunged the Palestinian enclave into a deep humanitarian crisis.
In August, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Famine Review Committee famine said 514,000 people — close to a quarter of Palestinians in Gaza — were experiencing famine, a figure it said was likely to rise. The finding was rejected by Israel.
Israel has accused Hamas of siphoning off aid, although a USAID analysis from earlier this year found no evidence of widespread theft, while the European Commission said it had received no reports.
UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said he was not aware of any role for the GHF during the ceasefire, The Washington Post reported.
The UN’s aid ‘surge’
With large sections of Gaza reduced to rubble after two years of bombardment from Israeli defence forces, Fletcher said the UN would shore up its shelter provision to help families to prepare for winter, including the distribution of thousands of tents per week.
He said 200,000 families would receive cash to cover basic food needs, and added the organisation intended to restore Gaza’s decimated medical system and improve access to medical supplies.
“We’ll help scale up emergency care, primary health, child health, sexual reproductive, maternal and neonatal health, non-communicable diseases, mental health and rehabilitation,” Fletcher said.
The initiative will also seek to provide 1.4 million people with water and sanitation services.
“We’ll help to restore the water grid,” Fletcher said. “We will repair sewage leaks and pumping stations. We will move solid waste away from residential spaces, and will provide hygiene supplies, soap, shampoo, laundry detergent, sanitary pads.”
The United Nations also wants to get temporary schools set up for 700,000 children.
But Fletcher said increased funding was necessary to ensure the plan could be sustained, reiterating that only 28 per cent of the UN’s US$4 billion ($6.1 billion) appeal for Gaza has been funded.
And to sustain the UN’s plan, Fletcher said nearly 20 million litres of fuel were needed every week, as well as the restoration of gas for cooking.
Fletcher called for more security and scanners to ensure the swift passage of aid convoys through the strip.
“Let’s be clear, this problem won’t go away in two months.”
— With additional reporting by the Agence France-Presse news agency.
