Speaking at the ministerial conference on humanitarian aid to Gaza convened by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, UN Deputy Secretary-General in Cairo Amina Mohammed highlights the urgent need for lifesaving assistance and a long-term recovery plan for the region.
“We are here to help ensure an immediate increase in life-saving aid to the Palestinian peopleensure preparations for a potential ceasefire and begin to lay the foundations for recovery and reconstruction – this cannot happen soon enough,” she said, speaking on behalf of the United Nations Secretary General António Guterres.
Organized looting forced UNRWA to suspend aid
Deliveries of much-needed food and other supplies to Gaza have been halted through the region’s Kerem Shalom border crossing because of looting by armed gangs, the United Nations agency that aids refugees said. Palestine, UNRWAannounced.
The agency made the decision on Sunday after saying trucks carrying food “had been taken” after entering Gaza through the main aid corridor.
Explaining the action, UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini said that the route had been unsafe “for many months”. On November 16, a large convoy of aid trucks also passing through Kerem Shalom was stolen by armed gangs.
Further inside Gaza, aid workers are deeply concerned that levels of malnutrition are rising.
UNRWA senior emergency officer Louise Wateridge, speaking from one of the UN agency’s schools in Deir Al-Balah, where 6,000 people were sheltering on Monday, described families sleeping on the floor the house was cold, damp and witnessed a child “screaming in the corner, just screaming for a piece of bread. She just cried over a piece of bread.”
Children suffered the most damage
In Cairo, Ms. Mohammed outlined the devastating toll of the conflict: according to authorities in Gaza, with more than 44,000 Palestinian lives reported lost, widespread displacement and the collapse of essential services.
Children are the worst affected, with Nearly 19,000 people were hospitalized in the past four months alone due to acute malnutrition. Gaza currently has the highest number of child amputees per capita globally, with many surgeries performed without anesthesia.
“What we are seeing could amount to the most serious international crimesshe said.
Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed spoke at the Ministerial Conference to Strengthen the Humanitarian Response in Gaza, held in Cairo.
Aid blocked ‘outrageously’
Ms. Mohammed expressed deep concern at the severe restrictions on humanitarian aid to Gaza, describing the flow of supplies as “outrageously” short and unpredictable.
“Extraordinary aid is neither humane nor effective,” she said, citing challenges such as looting, unexploded landmines and destroyed roads.
Last month, a large aid convoy was stolen on its way out of Kerem Shalom: “Humanitarian staff and operations must be secure. Access must be granted to all those in need, regardless of their location. She emphasized that United Nations facilities must always be inviolable.
Need strong support
Ms. Mohammed called for strong support for the entire humanitarian aid system in Gaza, especially UNRWA, describing it as an irreplaceable lifeline for the Palestinian people.
“If UNRWA is forced to close, the responsibility to replace its vital services – and meet the core needs of Palestinians in Gaza – will fall on Israel as the occupying Power,” she said. closed,” adding that there was no alternative to UNRWA.
“Not the United Nations. Not the international community. But Israel – and only Israel.”
Reiterating the need for a political solution, Ms. Mohammed called for an immediate ceasefire and the unconditional release of the hostages.
She also emphasized the urgency of a two-state solution, in accordance with international law and relevant United Nations resolutions, in which Israel and Palestine live together in peace and security, with Jerusalem as the capitals of both countries.
“The disaster in Gaza is nothing less than the total collapse of our common humanity,” she concluded. “The nightmare must stop.”
There has been massive destruction of homes and infrastructure across Gaza.
Recovery and mental health
Sigrid Kaag, Gaza’s Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator, painted a grim picture of the destruction and trauma she witnessed during her visits.
“Nothing prepares you, as a human being, for the trauma, the trauma, the suffering, the loss and the sense of abandonment that Palestinian civilians feel,” she told delegates in Cairo. see”.
Ms. Kaag emphasized the importance of mental health support, especially for children.
“The scars of war are not just physical,” she noted, calling for investments in psychosocial programs in addition to immediate support and recovery efforts.
Build a future
Ms. Kaag also called on stakeholders to prioritize early recovery initiatives, including restoring basic services, rehabilitating infrastructure and promoting economic stability, in collaboration of the Palestinian Authority.
“After all, early recovery is also an investment in future stability, for the peaceful prospects of a Palestine in Gaza, in which Gaza is an inseparable link and entity of a future Palestinian State,” she said.
“Nationhood is not just about bricks and mortar, it is about restoring life, dignity and hope,” she added.
