The amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza rose sharply on Sunday, with more than 630 trucks entering the impoverished and hungry enclave on the first day of a ceasefire – the highest number since the war began 15 months ago, according to United Nations officials.
The agency says the cease-fire has allowed the UN's World Food Program to “bring in urgently needed food aid on a large scale and relieve famine in war-torn areas.” statement on sunday. Tom Fletcher, head of UN aid, said this statement On Monday, more than 300 of the trucks went to northern Gaza, where aid is scarce and humanitarian officials are. warned of a possible shortage.
During the war, is less than 100 trucks a day entered the enclave and there were deliveries sometimes has been suspended. Aid agencies have accused Israel of overly restricting deliveries with strict checks and border crossing closures, which Israel denies and says it needs at least 200 trucks a day to deliver food, medicine, fuel, clean water and other essentials.
With the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in effect, aid convoys have entered Gaza without problems and no attempts have been made. theft or robbery According to Juliette Touma, spokeswoman for the UN's main aid agency for the Palestinians, the aid was delivered on Sunday or Monday. He added that local police officers were in some areas of Gaza to provide security for convoys, while other areas did not need security.
Uniformed police officers and armed fighters, rarely seen outdoors during the war, were seen throughout Gaza's cities and towns after the ceasefire took effect. It clearly demonstrated that Hamas, which has ruled the enclave for years, is still in charge and plans to retain power.
Videos posted on social media showed convoys moving through Gaza on Sunday as people gathered quietly on roadsides, avoiding approaching the trucks. It contrasted sharply with the apocalyptic scenes aid delivery during wartimewhen desperate crowds banded together and boarded trucks in the hope of securing a packet of food or a bag of flour, sometimes resulting in violence.
“It was remarkable that none of the trucks that came in yesterday were looted,” said Nebal Farsakh, a spokesman for the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. “And it was the first time in 15 months that so many trucks entered Gaza,” he said.
Once inside Gaza, it was less clear how efficiently and fairly aid was being distributed, and some residents said they had yet to receive or even see the aid. Ms Touma said UNRWA staff and aid workers from other agencies were still sorting aid that had arrived since Sunday before delivering it to people.
“It's the second day of the ceasefire and they said aid and flour have arrived, but unfortunately we haven't seen any yet,” said Mustafa al-Aloul, 22, from northern Gaza. “There's literally nothing in the markets right now,” he said.
Gaza's Ministry of Social Development, which is part of the Hamas-led administration, said in a statement on Monday that it had “made all preparations to receive aid” and would provide all necessary permits for aid organizations to receive and distribute aid. “Work will be done in a coordinated manner among all partners to ensure that aid is distributed fairly to all citizens,” the ministry said, adding that assistance will be provided to families inside and outside shelter centers and tent camps.
Israeli officials have accused Hamas of hoarding supplies to serve its members and control the population, and there are reports of profiteers seizing the aid and then selling it on the black market. Aid officials say the solution is to end the famine.
Ms. Touma said that among the convoys entering Gaza were some trucks carrying commercial goods for sale, which rarely reach Gaza during the war.
“There were a few goods that people were very much missing from the market,” Ms. Touma said in an interview Monday. “So it's very good that commercial supplies come in, because you can't turn two million people in Gaza into a nation that depends on aid alone,” he said.
The World Food Program said it delivered ready-to-eat meals and bags of wheat flour on Sunday. It aims to send at least 150 truckloads of food to Gaza every day, restocking bakeries and providing food supplements for malnourished children, among other supplies.
Ameera Harrow Submitted a report from Qatar, Matthew Mpoke Bigg From London and Vivian Yee From Cairo.