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SvennoJ on 09 October 2025
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Norwegian Refugee Council calls for full, unrestricted access for delivering aid to Gaza

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), a global charity, has hailed the ceasefire announcement as a “glimmer of hope”.

“Today’s announcement of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas offers a glimmer of hope after two years of unrelenting death, destruction and displacement in Gaza. Both parties must act in good faith and do everything possible to ensure that the truce holds,” said the organisation’s chief, Jan Egeland, in a statement.

Egeland said the prisoner exchange must be completed, aid must be delivered and displaced Palestinians must be able to safely return to their homes.

“Stopping the bombing alone will not end survivors’ suffering. Displacement is widespread. Famine is still spreading. Essential infrastructure has been destroyed. Humanitarian organisations must have full, unrestricted access to bring in food, medicine, shelter materials, and other essential supplies that Gaza has been deprived of for two years,” he said.

The Norwegian Refugee Council has “hundreds” of truckloads of aid ready to enter Gaza, the NGO director added.

“We must not repeat the mistakes of previous ceasefires. This truce cannot be another fragile pause before renewed bloodshed, and Israel must not use it as an opportunity to escalate its military operations and enable settler violence in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.”


‘No time to waste’: WFP chief says teams in Gaza ready to scale up operations

Cindy McCain, executive director of the World Food Programme (WFP), has joined UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

“Unrestricted humanitarian access is urgently needed to deliver life-saving food & assistance,” McCain wrote in a post on X. “WFP is on the ground and ready to scale up operations, but we need to move NOW – there is no time to waste,” she added.


UNRWA welcomes Gaza deal as ‘huge relief’

Philippe Lazzarini, the chief of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), calls the ceasefire deal a “huge relief” and reiterated that the agency had food, medicines and basic supplies ready to be distributed.

“After their excruciating ordeal, hostages & Palestinian detainees will finally join their families,” Philippe Lazzarini wrote on X.

“We have enough to provide food for the entire population for the coming three months. Our teams in Gaza are crucial for the implementation of this agreement, including to provide basic services like healthcare + education,” he said.

“There are over 660,000 children who are eagerly waiting to go back to school. UNRWA teachers stand ready to help them fulfil that. I call on all member states to support UNRWA to do its work to assist people in need in the coming critical period,” Lazzarini added.


‘Life-saving’ supplies: UNICEF calls for immediate influx in aid deliveries

UNICEF communications specialist for Palestine, Rosalia Bollen, says the news of the ceasefire brings much-needed “hope and relief” but the influx of humanitarian supplies into the enclave is “integral”.

“The needs in the Gaza Strip after two years of relentless war, extreme deprivation – the needs are massive. So, every bit of aid, every bit of commercial supplies to enter will likely be life-saving,” Bollen told Al Jazeera.

“At UNICEF, we’ve been tracking acute malnutrition and we’ve seen an extreme spike in cases among children under five. These children, they need access to medical supplies, nutrition supplies, food for families and they cannot afford to wait,” Bollen said.

She added that the entry of aid supplies will be “vital” in saving lives in the enclave.

“As for UNICEF, our agency alone would be able to fill over 1,300 trucks with life-saving supplies as soon as we’re allowed to do so,” Bollen said.