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SvennoJ on 21 January 2025
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UNICEF chief welcomes release of Palestinian children from Israeli prisons

In a post on X, Catherine Russell said the UN children’s agency “welcomes the release” of nine Palestinian children.

The children were among 90 Palestinians released from Israeli prisons as part of the first phase of the exchange deal between Israel and Hamas, in the early hours of Monday morning.

The children “were reunited with their families overnight in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, after being held in detention for over a year”, Russell said.


Gaza aid falls short of ‘ocean of needs’ despite significant increase in deliveries

Gaza has seen a significant influx of humanitarian supplies. We understand that on the first day of the ceasefire, more than 630 humanitarian aid trucks were sent into the enclave. Approximately 300 of those went to the northern regions.

Yesterday, the number of aid trucks increased to 915. They were carrying essential food items alongside water and medication. Today, we expect to see even more aid trucks flowing in.

We understand that the aid will be distributed today at humanitarian aid centres in all regions of Gaza. Still, this falls short of the ocean of needs of Gaza’s population.


A Palestinian man carries an aid box provided by the UNRWA, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on January 21

Current Gaza aid flow ‘not nearly enough’

The aid that is coming into Gaza is “merely enough to keep people away from hunger”, according to Tamer Qarmout, an associate professor in public policy at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.

“It is like putting a patient on a life machine and you can decide at any moment to shut it down and they are dead,” he told Al Jazeera.

“We are talking about a population of 2.2 million, who have survived the genocide, who live on the street by large, who have nothing, no basic necessities to live in dignified, simple living standards,” he added. “Most of them are traumatised. Most of them are sick.”

“Gaza deserves full opening up for humanitarian and development recovery aid, not just humanitarian aid,” Qarmout said.


Palestinian children stand with people gathered to receive aid boxes provided by the UNRWA, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on January 21


People in Gaza cope with lack of shelter

Palestinians have started to return to their homes to assess the damage. Many have found nothing but debris left in their neighbourhoods, which were once bustling and full of children’s laughter.

People’s top priority now is to find shelter. We’ve seen some families set up makeshift tents near the remnants of their destroyed homes. They’re using salvaged material, like wood, metal, steel and sheets to protect themselves from the elements.

Others have turned to relatives or neighbours for refuge. It’s not uncommon to find many families living together in a very small space. People desperately need immediate assistance for shelter, as well as humanitarian aid.