International aid organisations are working tirelessly to deliver supplies into Gaza as the pause in hostilities enters its first week. More than a million children, about half the population, are waiting for food, water, and medical supplies as the winter months bring colder temperatures and heightened health risks.
On Sunday, more than 630 trucks entered the impoverished region on the first day of the ceasefire, according to UN officials.
The agency announced in a statement that the ceasefire will allow the UN World Food Program to “bring in urgently needed food aid at scale and begin pulling the war-ravaged territory back from starvation.”
“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,” said WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain. “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.”
With no fully functioning hospital in Gaza and several healthcare facilities destroyed, organisations such as Save the Children are working to supply and distribute essential aid to provide medical assistance in its two primary health care centres with plans scheduled to set up more medical facilities.
Save the Children released a statement earlier this week, outlining its plans to help facilitate the dispatch of medical teams who will provide mobile vaccination services, support for pregnant and breastfeeding women and caregivers, and distribute ready-to-use baby formula for infants unable to breastfeed.
Javier Garcia, team leader for Save the Children International in Gaza, said the organisation is “looking for every opportunity to provide the aid that children and families in Gaza so desperately need.”
“However, increased access in and across Gaza and guaranteed safety for humanitarian workers will be critical in enabling us to deliver lifesaving aid to children and their families wherever they are,” he added.
“Anything less than a definitive ceasefire and comprehensive accountability falls abysmally short of the safety, assistance and broader rights Palestinian children need, deserve and are entitled to – and means the international community is failing them yet again.”
Garcia said that he hopes the pause in fighting will become a “definitive ceasefire” and that “critical essential aid can start to get into Gaza at the levels children and families need.”
“We know there are hurdles to overcome and it will take time to get supplies flowing again, but there is no alternative. Children that remain in Gaza after months of bloodshed have a right to a brighter future and deserve their childhoods back.”
According to the latest figures from the Government Media Office in Gaza, more than 17,818 children in Gaza have been killed since the beginning of the war.
Several organisations believe the actual number of deaths may be higher, due to the pace and scale of hostilities, along with the diminishment of hospitals and search and rescue capabilities.
UNICEF released a statement last week, noting the “year of bombardment and deprivation” Gaza’s people have had to endure since the beginning of the war.
“With the collapse of essential services across Gaza, we must act urgently to save lives and help children recover,” a statement released by the UN children’s agency read.
“Less than half of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are functional, increasing the risk of infectious disease outbreaks and putting children at risk. Water production is at less than 25 per cent capacity. Nearly all of the territory’s 2.1 million people are facing high levels of food insecurity. And 95 per cent of Gaza’s school buildings have been damaged or destroyed.”
“The ceasefire must, finally, afford humanitarian actors the opportunity to safely roll out the massive response inside the Gaza Strip that is so desperately needed. This includes unimpeded access to reach all children and families with essential food and nutrition, health care and psychosocial support, clean water, and sanitation, education, and learning, as well as cash assistance and the resumption of commercial trucking operations.”
Last Thursday, the EU announced it would deliver €120m ($199m) in new aid for Gaza, a day after the ceasefire and hostage release deal was announced.
EU spokesperson Eva Hrncirova said “Today we are also adopting a package of 120 million euros for Gaza to address the ongoing humanitarian crisis there.”
EU President Ursula von der Leyen said “The ceasefire and hostage release agreement offers hope the region desperately needed. But the humanitarian situation remains grim in Gaza. Europe will channel €120 million of aid in 2025, alongside tons of in-kind aid, to keep supporting Palestinians.”
The aid package will include food, healthcare and shelter assistance and hygiene support to allow access to water and sanitation services.
“The EU will work closely with UN agencies and other humanitarian partner organisations to ensure swift delivery of the assistance,” the commission statement said.
Global charity Action Against Hunger said that the 600 trucks per day provided in the ceasefire are inadequate to respond to the immense needs of the population.
“It is more necessary than ever to increase the amount of aid, given that the level of destruction and humanitarian needs are extraordinarily more critical now than they were before October 2023,” said Natalia Anguera, Head of Operations in the Middle East for Action Against Hunger.
“Thousands of families have been in extreme hunger for months, not knowing when or where their next meal will come from. The opening of the land crossings announced in the ceasefire is vital. We are calling for the opening of as many entry points as possible to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches the entire population of the Strip, a territory where internal mobility restrictions could leave entire areas without the necessary support.”
According to Anguera, numerous limitations are also preventing the delivery of certain types of necessary supplies.
“In addition to the entry of trucks, we need the ease on restrictions on the type of materials allowed, especially those related to the rehabilitation of water and sanitation services and essential items to cope with the winter“, she said.
Meanwhile, the Deputy CEO of the Refugee Council of Australia, Adama Kamara, said that while the announcement of the ceasefire provides hope, the humanitarian crisis is far from over.
“The Government must act urgently and ensure that those fleeing are given the protection that they deserve,” Kamara implored in a statement. “We must provide refuge to those in need and support the opening of safe corridors.”
According to the Council, since December last year, more than 800 Palestinians have been granted Australian tourist visas, temporary humanitarian visas with work, Medicare and study rights.
In the past 24 hours, Israeli authorities have released 90 Palestinian prisoners from Israel’s Ofer Prisoner, as reported by Al Jazeera Arabic. Earlier in the day, Israeli authorities injured at least seven people who had congregated nearby to celebrate the prisoners’ release.