Ireland pledges additional funds to UNRWA amid Israeli ban
Irish Foreign Minister Simon Harris has pledged 20 million euros ($20.8m) in support for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) as it provides assistance to people in Gaza despite an Israeli ban.
“Today’s announcement underscores Ireland’s commitment to ensuring that there is a significant and meaningful surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza at this critical time. There is no replacement for the work of UNRWA and it is vital that it is supported,” he said in a statement.
Harris said he was “gravely concerned” about the Israeli ban on UNRWA which entered into force on January 30.
“I urge Israel to reconsider these measures and encourage other Governments to support UNRWA with funding at this most critical time so that it can deliver for the millions of Palestinian refugees in need,” he added.
Aid entering Gaza far below minimum required under ceasefire terms: Gaza Government
Gaza’s Government Media Office has issued a statement saying Israel is violating the terms of the ceasefire by not allowing the agreed minimum amount of aid to enter the enclave.
The deal allowed for the passage of 600 aid trucks daily, at a minimum, including 50 fuel trucks, as well as 60,000 mobile units and 200,000 tents, electric generators and their spare parts, solar panels and batteries.
“The amount of aid that entered the Gaza Strip is still far from the minimum required,” the statement said, as 8,500 trucks have entered the Strip since the agreement went into effect 20 days ago, instead of the required 12,000. Additionally, 2,916 trucks reached northern Gaza instead of 6,000.
The aid getting in was mostly food, the statement said, while aid for shelter did not reach 10 percent of the agreed amount. Similarly, 15 fuel trucks entered Gaza instead of 50, it added.
Aid entering Gaza ‘insufficient’: Global charity
Humanitarian aid has been entering Gaza since the ceasefire came into effect, but the 600 trucks going through the Rafah crossing on a daily basis are insufficient to respond to the needs of the population, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), a global aid agency.
“Prior to October 7, [2023], 500 trucks were entering Gaza on any working day – and that was when people were working and living in their homes,” Shaina Low, communications adviser at NRC, told Al Jazeera. “Now, we’re having 600 trucks enter each day and we’re in an emergency crisis setting.”
Additionally, aid organisations “faced incredible obstruction in getting aid into Gaza” during the past 15 months. “Now, we’re finally able to scale up our response, but there are still delays in screening certain types of material,” Low said.
Materials labelled as “dual use” by Israel, which include medical supplies, are facing restrictions. Delays are also caused by the limited availability of screening equipment employed by Israeli authorities to check aid trucks, the spokesperson added.
Medical evacuations from Gaza must be stepped up: WHO
The top official for the World Health Organization (WHO) in Gaza has said the number of patients allowed to leave the war-ravaged enclave remains insufficient, as thousands need lifesaving medical treatment.
“There should be more patients going through Rafah into Egypt, but we also want other medical corridors,” Rik Peeperkorn told reporters in a video call from Gaza.
“We really want to see restored is the traditional referral pathway to the West Bank and east Jerusalem. The hospitals are ready in east Jerusalem and West Bank to receive the patients,” he added.
Under the ceasefire agreement, up to 50 Palestinian patients a day and their helpers can be evacuated from Gaza through Rafah.
Peeperkorn said these numbers must be scaled up because 12,000 to 14,000 patients remain in need of evacuation, including at least 5,000 children.
Israel does not abide by humanitarian protocol or commitments: Gaza health official
Marwan al-Hams, the director of Gaza’s field hospitals, has been quoted by the enclave’s Health Ministry on Telegram as saying:
- The Israeli occupation does not abide by the humanitarian protocol or any other commitments.
- Only 120 patients have left for treatment outside the Strip.
- The occupation refuses to allow field hospitals to treat patients and the wounded.
- Only 76 aid trucks entered the Strip, including [the kind of] medical supplies that are not priorities.
- There are no blankets and winter clothes in light of the cold weather.
- We have a list of 35,000 patients in dire need of treatment outside the Strip.
- Some patients died before their turn for treatment abroad came.
- 40 percent of kidney patients died due to the lack of necessary treatment.
- There is no hospital or medical centre in Rafah except for one field hospital.
A field hospital is flooded following heavy rains in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip
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