Celebrations in the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip as the truce begins. Guterres welcomes start of Gaza ceasefire, UN ramps up food supplies Humanitarian aid
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the start of a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza. The agreement between Israel and Hamas came into force on Sunday. Amid the ceasefire, UN humanitarian convoys have been delivering food aid to the Gaza Strip to help the population cope with hunger.
“We stand ready to support the implementation of this agreement and to increase the continued delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians,” the UN chief said on his page on X.
“It is essential that the ceasefire removes the significant political and security obstacles that stand in the way of aid delivery,” he added.
A Step Towards Peace
According to media reports, three Israeli hostages were released and handed over to the Red Cross, who brought them back to Israel. In exchange, Israel is to release about 90 Palestinian prisoners.
A three-phase ceasefire and hostage release agreement brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States was reached last week, 15 months after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. The attacks left about 1,200 people dead and 250 taken hostage, of whom about 100 are still being held by Hamas militants.
Israel responded with a military campaign that has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, left the Gaza Strip devastated and left two million people in dire need of food and basic necessities.
The UN has called the ceasefire and the start of its first phase an important step towards peace and alleviating the enormous suffering of the Palestinian population.
Humanitarian agencies have begun delivering aid to Gaza
Amid the truce, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) immediately began its operations, with humanitarian convoys entering Gaza early on Sunday morning from both Egypt and Israel. The ceasefire will allow the agency to deliver food in unprecedented quantities to stave off starvation in the war-torn enclave.
A total of 630 trucks carrying aid entered Gaza today, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) chief Tom Fletcher said. WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain stressed her agency’s goal of sending at least 150 trucks of food into Gaza every day.
“After 15 months of war, we need all border crossings to remain open and functioning effectively, efficiently and reliably. And we need humanitarian teams to be able to move freely and safely throughout Gaza to reach those in need,” she said.