Gaza humanitarian crisis ‘far from being over,’ UN aid coordination office warns

Three months into the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the UN and partners have delivered tonnes of assistance items and carried out critical repairs, but this is only a temporary “Band-Aid” solution, a veteran aid worker has warned.

“The humanitarian situation and crisis in Gaza is far from being over,” Olga Cherevko from the UN aid coordination office OCHA said on Friday in an update to journalists in Jerusalem.

“For the Palestinians in Gaza, their lives continue to be defined by displacement, trauma, uncertainty, and deprivation.”

This has been further compounded by “severe recurrent storms that not only destroy people's meagre belongings, but they’re also deadly – whether through crumbling buildings or by taking the lives of children who are highly susceptible to the cold”.

Repairing roads, clearing rubble

Since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, humanitarians have brought in over 165,000 metric tonnes of assistance into Gaza. They also repaired roads, rehabilitated hospitals, cleared rubble, and re-opened aid distribution points.  

“We celebrated our gains and showed once again that when we’re enabled to do so, we deliver,” Ms. Cherevko said, adding that “the results speak for themselves.”

During the first two months of the truce alone, over 1.3 million people received food packages, and over 1.5 million hot meals were prepared and delivered to people in need across Gaza, thus improving food security.

Progress remains fragile

When torrential floods hit Gaza, putting thousands of families at risk, humanitarians worked with municipalities to find safer options. They also distributed tents, tarpaulins, mattresses and warm clothes.

“But while this progress is clear, it remains fragile and could be reversed overnight,” she said. “Because airstrikes, shelling, and armed clashes continue with civilian casualties being reported daily. Most of Gaza lies in ruins and the needs far outpace our efforts to meet them.”

Ms. Cherevko said that “due to various impediments and restrictions placed on organizations operating in Gaza and specific types of supplies that could enter, we could basically only apply Band-Aids to a wound that can only be closed with proper care.”

The harsh winter storms have also reversed gains made on the humanitarian front “because no amount of tents or tarpaulins can replace repairing people's homes”.

Additionally, despite humanitarians re-opening or establishing dozens of health service points, less than 40 per cent of healthcare facilities in Gaza are operational, while educational supplies critical for children who have not gone to school for two consecutive years continue to be barred from entry.

She also pointed to delays at border crossings, limited humanitarian corridors, delays, and other impediments, as well as restrictions on the operations of UN entities and international NGOs which “are putting lives at risk.”

A ceasefire ‘is not a recovery plan’

Ms. Cherevko stressed that “emergency response and its transition to early recovery cannot wait for political solutions. And a ceasefire in itself is not a recovery plan.”

What humanitarians working in Gaza need “remains very simple,” she said, calling for parties to the conflict to respect the ceasefire, ensure civilians are protected and that humanitarian access remains predictable, sustained and unimpeded.

Furthermore, restrictions on both aid agencies and critical supplies must be lifted, early recovery must be funded and enabled, and donor support must continue.

“The choices that are made today, both by the parties to the conflict and the donors will shape whether the pause to this fighting will translate to a path to stability or becomes just another quiet before the next storm,” she said.