Gaza: Major UN aid operation ‘ready to go’ if agreement is reached on US peace plan

In the event of agreement being reached over the US peace plan in the coming days.

That’s according to UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, briefing correspondents in New York on Monday as indirect talks got underway in Egypt, which has been mediating negotiations along with Qatar and the United States to end the war between Israel and Hamas.

On Friday, Hamas said it agreed to significant parts of the 20-point US peace proposal, including the release of all Israeli hostages alive and dead, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

One of the US proposals is for entry and distribution of aid into Gaza to proceed “without interference from the two parties through the United Nations and its agencies and the Red Crescent.”

Waiting for a green light

Mr. Dujarric said in response to questions that the UN is “ready to go as soon as we get the green light…There are thousands of metric tonnes in the pipeline of goods ready to enter.”

Qatari and Egyptian negotiators are reportedly holding meetings with delegations from both Israel and Hamas in Sharm El-Sheikh late on Monday as hopes rise of a possible end to the conflict which began exactly two years ago with the Hamas-led terror attacks on communities in southern Israel.

Israeli strikes on Gaza have continued despite a call from US President Donald Trump to pause its bombing campaign. Local health authorities reported that 21 Palestinians had been killed on Sunday, with 96 injured.

The UN aid coordination office, OCHA, reports a reduction in air strikes in recent days - but shelling and gunfire have continued.

Emergency funds released

Mr. Dujarric said UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher had allocated $9 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) on Monday to ensure adequate fuel supplies to keep life-saving services running. 

“Humanitarian access and movement across the Strip remain challenging,” Mr. Dujarric continued.

“Yesterday, eight missions that required coordination with the Israeli authorities were facilitated, but six other missions were denied, and five had to be cancelled by the organizers.”

Bakeries working flat out

The World Food Programme (WFP) has been able to deliver wheat flour to bakeries this month, which are “currently working up to 22 hours a day and producing some 100,000 bundles of bread daily.”

The UN and humanitarian partners prepared and distributed a total of 885,000 meals through 167 kitchens across Gaza on Saturday. However, only 12 kitchens are operating in the north.

“We and our partners stress the need for unimpeded and sustained access to all parts of Gaza so that aid can reach people, wherever they are,” said the UN Spokesperson.

Displacement sites and shelters in the south are overcrowded, driving some families to stay at garbage dumping sites such as Al Amal, where some 70 tents have been set up over the past few days.

OCHA stressed that UN aid teams and partners continue to do whatever they can to meet people’s urgent needs across the Strip, despite the ongoing violence, limited supplies and restricted access.