Following the deadly and destructive Israeli aggression on the besieged Gaza Strip, which started on Saturday, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said today that it is urgently seeking $104 million to enable its multi-sectoral humanitarian response over the coming 90 days.
The requested funds will cover the urgent immediate food, non-food, health, shelter and protection needs of up to 250,000 persons seeking safety in UNRWA shelters across the ravaged Gaza Strip and another 250,000 Palestine refugees within the community, it said in a statement.
Consideration will be given to the needs of vulnerable groups, including women, children, persons with disabilities and the elderly.
‘What is unfolding is already an unprecedented humanitarian tragedy. Whatever the circumstances are, rules apply in times of conflict and this one is no exception. Aid to civilians who have nowhere to flee must be immediate: water, food, medicine,’ said UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazz
arini. ‘It is of utmost urgency that access to humanitarian assistance and protection be upheld for all civilians,” he added.
UNRWA still faces a debilitating financial crisis, with current funding only sufficient to continue its regular services throughout the region until the end of October. These include education, health care and social protection. This Flash Appeal can only be implemented if UNRWA also receives the necessary funding for its core Program Budget, foundational for the Agency’s services in the Gaza Strip and other fields.
‘To keep our life-saving work in Gaza and throughout the region ongoing and to remain a lifeline for millions of Palestine refugees across the region, I appeal to UNRWA’s donors and partners to scale up their financial support,” said Commissioner-General Lazzarini.
UNRWA, said the press release, supports calls to reach an immediate ceasefire and a halt to the violence everywhere.
Source: Palestine news and Information Agency – WAFA