UN Secretary-General believes ceasefire insufficient to meet Gaza's aid needs
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (photo: GettyImages)
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres considers the extended ceasefire between Israel and Hamas insufficient to meet the needs for assistance in the Gaza Strip, according to Reuters.
On Monday, November 27, the White House confirmed that the four-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has been extended for two days. Guterres called it a glimmer of hope and humanity but warned that it is not enough to meet Gaza's needs for assistance.
"I strongly hope that this will enable us to increase even more the humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza that (are) suffering so much - knowing that even with that additional amount of time, it will be impossible to satisfy all the dramatic needs of the population," said Guterres.
The UN delivers humanitarian aid to Gaza through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. The United Nations also wants to have access to the Kerem Shalom border crossing controlled by Israel for these purposes.
"I am sincerely hopeful that it will be possible to have other crossings because they will facilitate the distribution and it will also facilitate the control by the Israeli side. So I'm very hopeful that this will happen," added the Secretary-General.
It is claimed that during the ceasefire, the UN increased the delivery of humanitarian aid, but according to Guterres' spokesperson, it barely meets the enormous needs of 1.7 million displaced people.
Israel-Hamas ceasefire
Israel has signed an agreement with Hamas for a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of hostages.
The first exchange took place on November 24. Hamas released 24 individuals, including 13 Israeli citizens and 11 foreigners. They were transported to Israeli hospitals, where they will reunite with their families.
On November 25, the Red Cross accepted a second group of hostages released by Hamas, consisting of 17 individuals, including 4 foreigners.
Additionally, on November 26, Hamas released another 17 hostages from captivity, including both Israelis and foreign citizens.
For more details on the agreements between Israel and Hamas and the duration of the ongoing conflict, you can read the article by RBC-Ukraine.
