More than 350 UNICEF aid trucks have entered the Gaza Strip in ongoing efforts to meet the needs of about 1 million children after 15 months of bombardment.
UNICEF has accelerated the distribution of supplies and services to children in the Gaza Strip, with more than 350 trucks entering in the first week of the long-awaited ceasefire.
The trucks, filled with water, hygiene kits, malnutrition treatments, warm clothes, tarpaulins and other critical humanitarian aid, have been entering from crossing points at both the north and south of the Gaza Strip and being distributed with partners to families in need.
More than 2 million people in the Gaza Strip, half of them children, face devastating shortages of basic necessities, including safe water and sanitation, food, and medical care. The damage to infrastructure is extensive, leaving many schools, hospitals, and homes destroyed.
“Our teams are working around the clock to scale up desperately needed humanitarian assistance, especially in areas not reached before the ceasefire due to operational challenges or restrictions,” said UNICEF Executive Director, Catherine Russell. “UNICEF teams continue to encounter children in desperate need. The ceasefire has provided some relief, but families are returning to areas that have been completely destroyed. Physical and emotional scars run deep.”
Children are the most affected by this crisis and require urgent attention to address their immediate needs and ensure their safety, education, and well-being. A ceasefire only will not end the suffering of children in the Gaza Strip. With the collapse of all essential services, and the scale of destruction of housing, health and education facilities, the level of humanitarian needs is almost unimaginable. UNICEF and partners are at the ready to scale up its response, but it is absolutely critical that the international community supports these efforts with much-needed financial resources.
UNICEF aims to deliver 50 trucks a day in this first phase of the ceasefire and has hundreds of pallets with aid prepositioned at the borders of the Gaza Strip, with more on the way, prioritizing items local communities and humanitarian partners have identified as most urgent.
Service delivery for children and their families, including mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) and critical water, sanitation and nutrition services, is also being ramped up on the ground.
UNICEF is focused on providing vaccines and support teams for immunization catch-up activities to prevent disease outbreaks, while expanding and scaling up the screening and treatment of malnutrition. Hospitals in the Gaza Strip, especially in the north, will receive support to increase their capacity, especially in neonatal units.
UNICEF will increase support for the production of safe water and sanitation and will raise awareness among children and caregivers of the risks they face moving through Gaza, including unexploded ordinance and family separation. UNICEF is also striving to reach families with child protection services, MHPSS support, multi-purpose cash assistance and, ultimately, ensuring all school-age children have access to education.
“This ceasefire offers a window for initial recovery that we hope paves the way for longer-term peace,” said Russell. “It is critical that the renewed flow of aid is sustained and that humanitarians are assured safe and unimpeded access to help meet the huge level of need.”
UNICEF calls on the international community to prioritise children’s needs in recovery efforts, and ensure that humanitarian agencies are well-funded and humanitarian corridors remain open and secure.
UNICEF welcomes the release of the 12 children as young as 15 years old from detention in Israel, as well as young adults who were first detained as children. UNICEF has called to end the detention of children in all its forms. UNICEF renews its call for the release of all hostages from the Gaza Strip, especially the two remaining children.
It is imperative that all parties uphold the ceasefire agreement, as well as their obligations under international law. This positive progress must be sustained, in the interests of all children.
