UN: The people of Gaza need a lot and there is no alternative to UNRWA

The head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Gaza, Georgios Petropoulos, said that nearly 2.1 million people in the war-torn enclave need “everything,” including shelter, water, food, medical aid and protection.

In an interview with the UN News correspondent in Gaza, Mr. Petropoulos said that at least two hundred trucks of humanitarian supplies need to be brought in to meet very basic needs, especially in southern Gaza, but this is not happening.

Despite repeated calls to the government of Israel to open the crossings in a timely manner, these crossings open very slowly and are not fit for purpose.

The head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Gaza said the lack of rule of law was particularly evident in southeast Rafah, where the Salah al-Din road was “impassable for most of our supplies.” This situation has left more than a million people in southern Gaza lacking the amount of food they need, “and they are certainly not prepared for the harsh winter we will face.”

He noted that UNRWA provides between 66 and 70 per cent of primary health care in Gaza. UNRWA provides millions of supplies to the medical sector. Schools have been down for more than a year. It provides sanitation services. It provides us with the fuel we use. There is no alternative plan to replace UNRWA here in Gaza. A profound humanitarian catastrophe will occur if UNRWA is forced to stop working, and we demand that this does not happen.”