UN agencies welcomed the entry of humanitarian trucks into the Gaza Strip from Egypt after a truce was established between Israel and Hamas, but said more needed to be done to faced with the massive humanitarian crisis in the enclave after seven weeks of war.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it was working on more evacuations from hospitals, which have been repeatedly attacked by Israeli forces.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the entry of aid into Gaza was a “step in the right direction” but “much more is needed.”
“We continue to call for a lasting ceasefire to end the suffering of civilians,” he posted on X.
We welcome the start of the humanitarian pause in #Gaza and the movement of humanitarian aid, particularly for health.
This is a step in the right direction, but there is still much to do.
We continue to call for a lasting ceasefire to end the suffering of civilians.
– Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) November 24, 2023
Aid agencies said they aimed to deliver supplies to northern Gaza, where hospitals have collapsed due to Israeli bombing and lack of fuel and where there are serious concerns about dehydration and deaths. epidemics.
Aid deliveries are so far only permitted through Gaza’s single border crossing with Egypt, in the southern part of the enclave, and not through its crossing points with Israel.
“The United Nations can confirm that as I speak, trucks carrying humanitarian supplies continue to enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing,” said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN office. for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Asked if the UN had any guarantees from Israel that it could provide aid to the north, Laerke replied: “We are proceeding on the basis of hope and expectation that we will reach people in need where they are. »
Before the conflict began in October, nearly 10,000 trucks of commercial and humanitarian goods, excluding fuel, entered Gaza each month, according to the UN.
On Friday, OCHA said in a statement that 80 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies had entered the day before from Egypt.
Gaza resident Ashraf Shann told Tel Aviv Tribune that people were happy that “some kind of help is coming” to the enclave.
“My family is made up of 12 people and we are internally displaced people. This is the first time this has happened to us,” he said.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said it received two ambulances and 85 aid trucks loaded with humanitarian aid, including food, water, medical supplies and medicine.
With around 200 aid trucks expected to enter Gaza during the four-day humanitarian pause, PRCS spokesperson Nebal Farsakh told Tel Aviv Tribune it was a “drop in the ocean “.
“The situation is more than catastrophic on a humanitarian and medical level. …The health sector as a whole is currently collapsing during this continued escalation,” Farsakh said.
Today, Palestinian Red Crescent teams received two ambulances and 85 trucks loaded with aid from the Egyptian Red Crescent through the Rafah crossing.
These trucks transport essential supplies such as food, water, relief items, medical equipment and medicines.#Gaza… pic.twitter.com/r1QRrGkU4X– PRCS (@PalestineRCS) November 24, 2023
Hospital evacuations are underway
WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier said the agency was working on further hospital evacuations as soon as possible. “We are extremely concerned about the safety of the approximately 100 patients and health workers remaining in al-Shifa,” referring to Gaza’s largest medical complex, which has been a main focus of the ground offensive Israeli.
Lindmeier declined to respond to comments from Gaza’s health ministry that it was suspending cooperation with the global health agency amid reports that Israel was detaining medical personnel for questioning.
Tommaso Della Longa, spokesman for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, told the Reuters news agency that its local partner had a convoy of ambulances heading north to evacuate the patients of the Arab al-Ahli hospital.
“We hope that this pause in the fighting will give us the opportunity to reach the entire population of Gaza, including areas in the north where it was impossible to reach,” he said.