Following the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) called on Thursday for unrestricted access to deliver urgently needed food and aid to the region.
According to the WFP, about 80,000 tons of food is waiting outside Gaza or en route, which is enough to feed more than 1 million people for three months.
According to UN figures, more than 90% of the 2 million residents in the Gaza Strip are suffering from severe hunger. There is also a lack of drinking water, emergency shelters and medicines.
“The ceasefire brings hope, but we need unrestricted movement of humanitarian teams and supplies to reach those in need,” the WFP said in a post on X.
A ceasefire deal was announced on Wednesday evening and would go into force on Sunday, pending approval by the Israeli Cabinet.
According to the WFP, it has delivered more than 181,000 tons of food to Gaza since the beginning of the war in October 2023. In January, the figure was only around 2,200 tons.
The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip was dire before the war began and has deteriorated significantly due to Israel’s intense bombardment. A large portion of residential buildings and infrastructure has been destroyed.
The war was triggered when Hamas-led militants stormed out of Gaza and killed some 1,200 people in southern Israeli communities in a brutal massacre.
Since then, the Palestinian authorities say more than 46,700 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza.
