NEW YORK, Tuesday, July 2, 2024 (WAFA) – The UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator (SHRC) for Gaza Sigrid Kaag today called for the sustained flow of assistance to the war-torn Gaza Strip.

Addressing the UN Security Council (UNSC) in a briefing on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, Kaag stated: “The war in Gaza has not merely created the most profound of humanitarian crises, it has unleashed a maelstrom of human misery. The health system has collapsed, schools destroyed and the disrupted education system threatens future generations.”

“Over 1 million people have been displaced once again, desperately seeking shelter and safety (and) 1.9 million people are now displaced across Gaza,” she added.

She voiced her deep concerns “about reports of new ]Israeli[ evacuation orders issued in the area of Khan Yunis.”

The UN official expressed deep concern about reports of new Israeli evacuation orders being issued in the Khan Yunis area in the south of the Gaza Strip, and their impact on the civilian population.

Kaag briefed the Council on the implementation of Resolution 2720.

She said: “A sustained flow of assistance to Gaza is needed to deliver quantity and quality of goods throughout all land and sea crossings, including Rafah ]border crossing[.”

She pointed out that “Since the start of the Israeli military operation in Rafah and the subsequent closure of the Rafah Border Crossing in early May, the volume of aid entering and distributed across Gaza has dropped significantly.”

She called for “the opening of additional crossings, especially to south Gaza, and consideration of movement of aid from north to south Gaza.”

She also called for “the urgent reopening of the Rafah border crossing, also with the view of the important planning for recovery and reconstruction.”

She said that “while humanitarian assistance will be required for years to come, planning and preparing for the early recovery and reconstruction of Gaza is essential”.

She noted that the Palestinian Authority has a critical role to play in the Gaza Strip. “The Palestinian Authority is integral to planning for the implementation of Gaza's recovery and reconstruction.”

She stressed that ambitious reconstruction planning requires ambitious and generous funding.

Kaag stressed that reconstruction in Gaza means, among other things, dignified shelter, at a time when more permanent houses are built or renovated; basic health, sanitation and water systems are restored; schools and higher education learning spaces are rehabilitated; and special attention and support are provided to approximately 17,000 children orphaned due to the ongoing Israeli genocidal war.

She added there is still a lot we need to do so as not to let the Palestinians down in Gaza.

At the conclusion of her briefing, Kaag read in Arabic a letter she received during one of her visits to the Gaza Strip from an eight-year-old girl named Fatima al-Masry, in which she said, “I love my country and I love my friends. I live in a camp, and I wish to live in my home like the rest of the children.”

The letter was signed with a drawing of a flock of birds flying over the sea.

A.D./ K.F.