UN's OCHA: Egypt Played Pivotal Role in Bringing Aid to Palestinian People in Gaza

The spokesman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Jens Lærke confirmed that Egypt played a pivotal role in bringing humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, praising the great Egyptian role in this matter since the beginning of the conflict.

Laerke said, in a special interview with Al-Qahera News Channel, broadcast on Friday evening (from Geneva), "Egypt is one of the guarantors of the ceasefire and the peace agreement in the region, and therefore Egypt supports, with all it can, the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, as the number of trucks that have crossed from the Egyptian side has reached 1,700 trucks so far, and we thank the Egyptian state, leadership and people, for their support to us and the international community in bringing relief supplies to the Palestinian people in Gaza."

He added, "The ceasefire contributed to the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, north and south, and food and humanitarian supplies began to increase, and were distributed well in order to reach all those in need and everything they need for living."

Regarding the most prominent humanitarian needs monitored by the OCHA office in Gaza, Larke said, "From the OCHA point of view, we as a coordinating body seek to address all the needs in all aspects of life for the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, and everything they need everywhere, and as I mentioned, food has begun to enter the Strip in a good way in order to end the famine crisis there."

Regarding plans to support hospitals that suffer from power outages and fuel shortages and have gone completely out of service, the OCHA spokesperson said, "Energy is very important, and electricity is one of the basic factors for operating hospitals. Since the ceasefire began, we have begun to see fuel entering hospitals and the desalination plant has begun to operate, and hospitals and medical clinics, especially in the north, which has deteriorated significantly, have begun to receive fuel in order to start power generators and provide medical care to thousands of patients. Therefore, fuel is essential and has begun to enter the Gaza Strip in order to support the medical sector, and step by step we will reach the operation of all medical hospitals in the Gaza Strip."

The spokesman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) added: "We have provided medical supplies to 14 hospitals in the Gaza Strip so that we can return to work, and we are working to restart the hospitals, and we have confirmed that we have reached 14 hospitals, and they have been provided with all medical supplies and fuel in order to restart the desalination plants and obtain clean water, and we also have special programs to provide food and medicine to the residents of the Gaza Strip, in cooperation with all institutions."

He continued, "OCHA is working hard, and is striving with all its efforts to calm the humanitarian suffering that the residents of the Gaza Strip are suffering from, and it has appeared over the past year and a half, and there are better expectations after the ceasefire, as everyone now feels positive in this regard."

Regarding the efforts made by OCHA to coordinate the delivery of aid to Gaza despite the logistical and political challenges, Laque said, "There are many actors and organizations in the region doing a lot, and we expect the international community to provide more humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, noting that the role of OCHA is to organize well in order to reach all those in need in the Gaza Strip, and to activate the distribution process in an appropriate manner. Since last Sunday, there has been a re-establishment of the law and the matter has now become more organized."

He added, "There are international calls to mobilize 4 billion dollars, especially for the Gaza Strip, and some of it to the West Bank, but mainly to the Gaza Strip, and a small part of this funding has been provided, and we are now able to reach places inside the Gaza Strip in order to distribute all humanitarian aid and relief supplies well."

Laque stressed the need to cooperate and unify efforts with all relevant and active parties regarding the entry of humanitarian, food and relief aid, and to negotiate, consult and coordinate with all local Palestinian parties regarding the distribution of this aid to citizens in the Gaza Strip. “We are pushing in all these directions inside the Gaza Strip, and as I mentioned, we started with 14 hospitals that were reopened, and there are more hospitals being worked on to reopen them again, and to bring in better medical aid, and we started looking closely, and we know that there are thousands of citizens waiting for medical evacuation, and many of them suffer from chronic diseases, and it is necessary to evacuate all the injured and sick urgently, and to take them to the nearest hospital in order to provide them with the necessary medical care and attention,” he added.