The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today said that the announcement of a ceasefire has generated a new hope for relief at last in Gaza, urging Member States to extend generous funding for the response so that the humanitarian communities can scale up.

‘’Today, within minutes of the announcement by Israeli authorities that the ceasefire had taken effect at noon, local time, thousands of people resumed movement north, mainly on foot, but also in vehicles and animal-drawn carts. Some of the people who have already managed to reach Gaza City reported that they arrived back to find their homes had sustained further damage,'' said UN Secretary General spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric during the daily media briefing.

‘’The UN and its partners are ready to scale up the humanitarian response immediately. In order to deliver on this plan, the UN needs the opening of additional crossings, safe movement for aid workers and all other civilians, the unrestricted entry of goods, visas for staff, and space for the UN and its NGO partners to operate, in line with humanitarian principles,'' he added.

After two years of war, he continued, the rehabilitation of infrastructure is urgently needed to enable recovery. The private sector is also critical. OCHA appeals to all leaders backing the ceasefire to help us secure the conditions to carry out unimpeded humanitarian operations. ‘’It’s also critical that Member States extend generous funding for the response so that the humanitarian communities can scale up,'' he urged.