The United Nations Plans To Increase Aid And Medical Supply To Gaza After Ceasefire

Gazans while queuing for food. (Source: WHO)

JAKARTA - The United Nations (UN) plans to increase the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza in the first 60 days of a ceasefire in the enclave, a top official said.

The deal is expected to take effect 24 hours after a meeting of the Israeli government on Thursday, allowing a fleet of trucks carrying food and medical aid to Gaza, to the release of hostages and the withdrawal of some Israeli troops.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday said the bureaucracy needed to be removed and safe and sustainable access for humanitarian workers would be needed so the organization could implement its plans.

"We will aim to increase the number of supplies to hundreds of trucks every day. We will increase the provision of food throughout Gaza to reach 2.1 million people who need food assistance and about 500,000 people who need nutrition," said UN Deputy Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Assistance Coordinator Tom Fletcher. , reported by Reuters on October 10.

"Worships must be overcome in areas that have been hit by disasters and prevented in other areas," he added.

Fletcher said the UN would also provide cash for 200,000 families to meet basic food needs.

He added that the organization would restore the destroyed Gaza health system and deliver more medical supplies.

"We will now make a massive increase in the provision of shelters, including to help families prepare for winter. We will bring in and distribute thousands of tents every week, in addition to tarpaulins and other items," he said, adding focus would be given to vulnerable families.

Gaza City and its surroundings are suffering from starvation that is likely to spread, affecting more than half a million Palestinians, according to an August report by global hunger monitor IPC. Israel, which blocked all food from entering Gaza for nearly three months this year, relaxed restrictions in July by allowing more aid.

The United Nations says much more aid is needed, and the United Nations cannot reliably distribute supplies in Gaza, blaming movement restrictions by the Israeli military and law and order violations.