Statement by the Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Mr. Jamie McGoldrick

Nearly 2 million people have been forced to flee their homes, many of them multiple times. Half of all people in Gaza are at risk of imminent famine, and child malnutrition has reached levels never before seen in Gaza.

The situation is simply catastrophic.

In recent days, Israel has acknowledged the immense scale of suffering in Gaza and its ability to facilitate the increase of humanitarian assistance to people in need. This is a welcome development, notably the several commitments that Israel has made in response to our repeated requests:

• A better functioning coordination cell will be established that links humanitarians directly with the IDF Southern Command.
• Plans to open Erez Crossing temporarily to move much needed food, water and sanitation items, shelter and health materials from Ashdod port.
• Plans to increase the number of trucks entering through the Allenby Bridge crossing towards Gaza from 25 to at least 50 per day.
• Intent to expand operating hours of Kerem Shalom and Nitsana crossings, while anticipating an increase in the number of trucks scanned by an additional 100 trucks per day.
• Deployment of additional scanner and staff capacity at Kerem Shalom crossing to accelerate the transfer of aid into Gaza.
• Assurance for approvals to activate 20 bakeries in North Gaza.
• Approval for the Nahal Oz water line in North Gaza to restart.

As I have stated previously, the humanitarian community is prepared to scale-up assistance in Gaza, but this requires better security, greater access, and more reliable facilitation from Israeli authorities.

We stand ready to work with all parties to alleviate the suffering of people in Gaza.