Aid to Gaza: The UN's Plan for the First 60 Days of Ceasefire

The UN is prepared to launch a 60-day plan to assist the ravaged population of Gaza as soon as a ceasefire goes into effect. They have already pre-positioned 170,000 tons of humanitarian aid.

"Our detailed and tested plan is set. Our supplies, 170,000 tons of food, medicine, and other goods, are ready. Our courageous, skilled, and determined teams are in place," stated Tom Fletcher, the UN's humanitarian operations chief, during a video press conference from Saudi Arabia on Thursday.

The plan for the 60 days starting from the first day of the ceasefire aims to increase the volume to allow "hundreds of trucks per day" to enter.

Food and Water

"Famine must be reversed where it has established itself and prevented in other areas," pleaded Tom Fletcher.

The plan includes food assistance for 2.1 million people and more specific nutritional aid for 500,000 individuals suffering from severe malnutrition. It encompasses in-kind distributions, support for bakeries and communal kitchens, and cash assistance for 200,000 families to buy food of their choice.

Additionally, the UN aims to provide water and sanitation services for 1.4 million individuals. "We will help repair the water distribution network (...), fix sewer leaks," and "we will remove waste from residential areas and provide hygiene products, soap, shampoo, laundry detergent, and sanitary pads," the UN official stated.

Health, Education, Shelter

The UN will work to restore the "decimated" healthcare system, provide more equipment and medicine, increase medical evacuations, deploy more emergency medical teams, and strengthen basic care and mental health support.

The distribution of "thousands of tents each week" is planned.

Furthermore, the plan includes reopening temporary educational centers for 700,000 children.

Need for Funding

"For all this to be possible, we need 10 things," emphasized Tom Fletcher.

Among these conditions are the entry of "at least 1.9 million liters of fuel each week," the return of cooking gas, the opening of all crossing points with more scanners to speed up cargo clearance, and securing these points to prevent looting.

Lastly, there needs to be unrestricted entry of aid on the necessary scale and the funds to finance it.

"To date, only 28% of the 2025 humanitarian plan for the Palestinian territories, totaling $4 billion, is funded," he lamented.

The UN will require funds to go beyond the pre-positioned 170,000 tons of aid located in Israel, Jordan, Egypt, and Cyprus, which will not be sufficient to cover these first 60 days.

"And let’s be clear, this problem will not disappear in two months," he warned.