Aid organizations said they were planning to quickly expand their operations in the Gaza Strip once the newly agreed ceasefire comes into force.
International Rescue Committee (IRC) boss David Miliband said the organization would expand the “scale and impact” of its work in the Gaza Strip “as conditions allow.”
“The scars of this war will be long-lasting, but a surge of aid is desperately needed to provide immediate relief to civilians,” Miliband said.
“This will take flexible funding and the free flow of aid and aid workers. Done right, it can lay the foundations for the even harder work of development and peace.”
Catherine Russell, executive director of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), stressed that the scale of humanitarian needs in Gaza “is enormous.”
“UNICEF and partners are ready to scale up our response,” Russell said. “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.”
There are currently an estimated 17,000 children who have lost their parents or have been separated from them. Nearly 1 million children are no longer living in their homes, according to UNICEF figures.
