RAMALLAH, November 13, 2025 (WAFA) – The Government Operations Room held a meeting with the UNDP Regional Team Leader for Governance and Peace to discuss ways for strengthening coordination and advancing relief and recovery efforts in the Gaza Strip.
Samah Hamad, Chair of the Government Operations Room for Emergency Interventions in the Gaza Strip Governorates, emphasized the importance of enhancing field coordination between the Palestinian government and international and UN institutions, and ensuring a transparent humanitarian response that accelerates recovery efforts and the restoration of vital services in the Gaza Strip.
The meeting was held yesterday between the Government Operations Room and the UNDP Regional Team for Governance and Peace. During the briefing, the UNDP provided information on governance and institutional response programs that support the Palestinian government's efforts. The discussion also addressed mechanisms for coordination and partnership with national ministries and institutions to strengthen the effectiveness of relief and early recovery interventions in Gaza.
Hamad emphasized that the Operations Room unifies the efforts of government ministries, national institutions, and international partners to ensure that resources are directed toward urgent priorities and to alleviate the population's suffering. She noted that the Operations Room operates through two field offices in Gaza City and Deir al-Balah, which collaborate directly with local and international partners despite challenges caused by the Israeli obstruction of humanitarian aid entry and restrictions on field movement.
She added that the Operations Room continues to coordinate and strengthen humanitarian response efforts across various sectors during the relief and early recovery phases. To date, she said; implementation plans for the education, health, public works and housing, energy, and water sectors have been reviewed. Preparation of these plans, she emphasized, follows a participatory approach involving local and international experts and partners working in the field to ensure a comprehensive and coordinated response.
Hamad also highlighted the role of the Palestinian government in revitalizing the local economy and creating temporary employment opportunities, in cooperation with civil society organizations and international partners, to help gradually restore life to key sectors.
She stressed the need to enable the Palestinian government to operate effectively on the ground in Gaza through international pressure to ensure unrestricted humanitarian access, and to strengthen the UN humanitarian coordination system in aid distribution.
Hamad also called for the urgent provision of shelter materials ahead of the winter season, as well as mobile clinics, water, and generators to maintain essential services and to protect vulnerable populations.
She further underscored the importance of reactivating the education system in Gaza as a top national priority to safeguard the future of children, calling for the rapid establishment of shelter centers at the 294 sites identified by the Ministry of Public Works and Housing to secure displaced families and provide a dignified humanitarian environment.
From Gaza, Mohammad Zaiter, representative of the Palestinian Employment Fund, spoke via Zoom, about the Fund’s cooperation with UNDP in providing temporary job opportunities for youth.
He said that around 3,000 temporary jobs have been created in critical sectors such as infrastructure, solid waste management, and water network rehabilitation, contributing to the restoration of essential services and the strengthening of community recovery.
Meanwhile, Raqia Abu Rab, from the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, delivered a presentation on cooperation between the Ministry and UNDP in implementing the Relief and Early Recovery Plan for the Public Works and Housing Sector. She explained that UNDP teams have removed more than 100,000 tons of rubble, of which 16,000 tons were recycled for use in rehabilitating public roads and improving access to essential services.
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