Key Points
- Agency urges swift increase in emergency aid deliveries as food and shelter shortages worsen
- Fuel, cooking gas, water, and food urgently needed, says senior emergency coordinator
GAZA City: A senior UNICEF official has emphasised that the quality of humanitarian aid entering Gaza is just as critical as its quantity, calling for unrestricted access to essential supplies to address the enclave’s growing humanitarian crisis.
Hamish Young, UNICEF’s Senior Emergency Coordinator, told Anadolu Agency: “Palestinians in Gaza need tents, plastic sheeting, and clean drinking water.” He also underscored the urgent need for fuel and vital equipment to produce and distribute water, along with pipes to repair damaged wells and desalination facilities.
Speaking from the road near the Kissufim crossing, east of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, Young said he and his team were still awaiting clearance to deliver the desperately needed aid.
“We have 50 trucks waiting for permission to move and bring in medical supplies and hygiene items essential to save children’s lives,” he said.
According to UNICEF, Israel has allowed 653 aid trucks into Gaza since the ceasefire took effect on October 10. This number is far less than the 600 trucks per day agreed under the current arrangements.
On Sunday, 173 aid trucks were allowed into Gaza, including three carrying cooking gas and six with fuel. However, no aid deliveries were permitted on Monday or Tuesday. By Wednesday, 480 trucks were granted entry.
Calling the situation in Gaza “catastrophic,” Hamish Young said all hospitals had either been destroyed or heavily damaged, and residents were suffering from extreme shortages of food and shelter.
He stressed the urgent need for a substantial delivery of food supplies to combat famine, particularly in northern Gaza. “Every effort must be made to bring in all the essential supplies I’ve mentioned,” Young urged.
Young continued: “Children in Gaza are in dire need of this support, and we shouldn’t sit and wait for these supplies.”
Hamish Young called for the daily entry of at least 600 trucks carrying essential supplies into Gaza. This should include not only humanitarian aid from organisations such as UNICEF, the World Food Programme, the UN Population Fund, and the World Health Organisation, but also a wide range of goods from private sector and commercial suppliers.
He emphasised that around 50 fuel trucks per day, including those carrying cooking gas, are urgently needed—describing cooking gas as “critical for the population of Gaza.”
Young also stressed the importance of allowing unrestricted movement for aid organisations across the territory. “We need access to deliver supplies to the most vulnerable children, their mothers, and the families who care for them,” he said.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Saturday that more than 68,000 Palestinians have been killed in the two-year-long war. The ministry said the number of dead has climbed since the ceasefire went into effect, with the majority of the newly counted dead bodies being found during recovery efforts under the rubble.
