“At least 630 trucks with humanitarian aid entered Gaza on Sunday, with at least 300 of them going to the north. There is no time to lose,” Tom Fletcher said in a statement Sunday.
“After 15 months of relentless war, the humanitarian needs are staggering. We recognize the logistical challenges facing those delivering this aid, including mountains of rubble and unexploded remnants of war. The safety of all civilians, including aid workers, remains our top priority.”
The ceasefire agreement allows for a dramatic uptick in humanitarian relief to enter Gaza. However, the UN has warned the increased aid allotment would be “only a start” in addressing the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in the enclave, where Israeli strikes have laid waste to large swathes of territory and human rights groups have described “unspeakable” living conditions.
Fletcher called on countries “with influence over the parties to ensure that this lifesaving aid reaches those who need it most.”
“This is a moment of tremendous hope – fragile, yet vital – as we continue to navigate the complexities of the days and weeks ahead,” Fletcher added.
The Gaza ceasefire agreement took effect at 11:15 a.m. local time (0915GMT) on Sunday after a few hours’ delay.
Nearly 47,000 people have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 110,700 others injured in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, according to local health authorities.
The Israeli war has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst global humanitarian disasters ever.
In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
Cindy McCain, the head of UN World Food Programme (WFP), has stated that while this is a “critical first step”, the needs in Gaza are “immense”.
“This is a critical first step, but the needs in Gaza are immense; two million people have been in urgent need of food and other basics for far too long,” she said in a statement.
“After 15 months of war, we need all border crossings to stay open and function efficiently, effectively and reliably. And we need humanitarian teams to be able to move freely and safely across Gaza to reach those in need,” the statement read.
The statement added that WFP has “enough food pre-positioned along the borders, and on its way to Gaza, to feed over a million people for three months”.
