Aid surging into Gaza ‘at scale’ but massive needs remain: OCHA, WHO

On day three of the ceasefire which entered into force on Sunday 19 January, the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, welcomed the “surge” in lifesaving humanitarian assistance into the enclave, after 15 months of devastating Israeli bombardment.

Aid trucks began entering Gaza “a few minutes after the deal entered into force on Sunday,” said OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke. “Up to now – these two first days of entry – there [have] been no reports of looting or attacks against aid workers.”

Hundreds of trucks

More than 900 aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip on Monday, as the truce held between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas, according to the Israel authorities and the ceasefire’s guarantors, the US, Qatar and Egypt.

While the conflict raged, prompted by Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023, the aid lifeline to Gaza dwindled to as little as 50 trucks per day.

“At long last, aid at scale is entering,” said Mr. Laerke. “At long last, more hostages were released and can be reunited with their families and at long last, women and minors were freed from detention. It’s a tremendous hope, fragile but vital; this deal must hold.”

Addressing physical and mental scars

Immediate priorities for Gazans include “getting food in, opening bakeries, getting healthcare, restocking hospitals, repairing water networks, repairing shelter, family reunification,” the OCHA spokesperson told journalists in Geneva. “A lot of the things that we have done throughout, but nowhere near at the scale needed. And that is what we hope and work towards to be able to do now.”

UN humanitarians have long maintained that the entire population of Gaza – more than two million people – depends on such essentials. They include children, who account for about half of the Strip’s population, “with many surviving on just one meal a day”, OCHA said in an update.

“We have to – and we will – maximize delivery through this opening. Hunger is widespread, people are homeless; disease, injuries are rampant. Children are separated and there’s a cloud of deep psychological trauma hanging over Gaza that needs to be dealt with.”

Health emergency continues

Urgent health needs must also be addressed across Gaza where one in two hospitals are not functional, others are only partially functional and the majority of health facilities have sustained damage, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO).

“The idea is as quickly as possible to try to provide health facilities to people of Gaza, focusing on emergency care, maternal and child health and other areas,” said WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic.

He added: “We should not forget other areas and that’s 12,000 patients still need to be evacuated outside Gaza. We need to make sure that those people can go and receive medical care they need.

“We’ve been talking to 25,000 people [who] have sustained life changing injuries. These people need rehabilitation services that are not available right now.”