The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees on Thursday welcomed the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas and said it was ready to flood Gaza with desperately-needed food.
News that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire “is a huge relief”, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said on X.
The agreement follows a 20-point peace plan for Gaza announced last month by US President Donald Trump, under which Israel should withdraw from the Gaza Strip and release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for hostages.
This “will bring respite to people who survived the worst bombardment, displacement, loss and grief for two long years”, Lazzarini said, hailing that “after their excruciating ordeal, hostages and Palestinian detainees will finally join their families”.
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The UNRWA chief said his agency had “food, medicines + other basic supplies ready to go to Gaza”, where the UN has said famine is spreading.
“We have enough to provide food for the entire population for the coming three months.”
UNRWA has long been a lightning rod for harsh Israeli criticism, which ramped up dramatically after Hamas’s deadly attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023, sparked the war in Gaza.
Israel has accused the agency of bias and of being “riddled with Hamas operatives”, and earlier this year barred it from operating on Israeli territory.
UNRWA has said it still has some 12,000 staff inside Gaza, and Lazzarini insisted Thursday that the agency’s teams there were “crucial for the implementation of this agreement, including to provide basic services like healthcare and education”.
“There are over 660,000 children who are eagerly waiting to go back to school,” he said, stressing that UNRWA teachers stand ready to help them fulfil that.
“I call on all member states to support UNRWA to do its work to assist people in need in the coming critical period.”
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The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees on Thursday welcomed the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas and said it was ready to flood Gaza with desperately-needed food.
News that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire “is a huge relief”, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said on X.
The agreement follows a 20-point peace plan for Gaza announced last month by US President Donald Trump, under which Israel should withdraw from the Gaza Strip and release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for hostages.
This “will bring respite to people who survived the worst bombardment, displacement, loss and grief for two long years”, Lazzarini said, hailing that “after their excruciating ordeal, hostages and Palestinian detainees will finally join their families”.
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The UNRWA chief said his agency had “food, medicines + other basic supplies ready to go to Gaza”, where the UN has said famine is spreading.
“We have enough to provide food for the entire population for the coming three months.”
UNRWA has long been a lightning rod for harsh Israeli criticism, which ramped up dramatically after Hamas’s deadly attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023, sparked the war in Gaza.
Israel has accused the agency of bias and of being “riddled with Hamas operatives”, and earlier this year barred it from operating on Israeli territory.
UNRWA has said it still has some 12,000 staff inside Gaza, and Lazzarini insisted Thursday that the agency’s teams there were “crucial for the implementation of this agreement, including to provide basic services like healthcare and education”.
“There are over 660,000 children who are eagerly waiting to go back to school,” he said, stressing that UNRWA teachers stand ready to help them fulfil that.
“I call on all member states to support UNRWA to do its work to assist people in need in the coming critical period.”
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By AFP