This follows a $9 million allocation last week to secure fuel supplies for hospitals and essential services, bringing total recent CERF funding for Gaza to $20 million.
The announcement comes as a ceasefire brokered by the United States, Qatar and Egypt remains in place, along with the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees, offering what the UN Secretary-General described as “the fragile hope of calm after months of devastation.”
An urgent expansion is needed
The UN and its partners are rapidly expanding operations across Gaza as access improves, providing life-saving assistance in areas that had been isolated for months. However, in the face of overwhelming needs, a massive increase in funding is necessary.
Fletcher warned that without new contributions to CERF, critical aid cannot continue to reach the people who need it.
Speaking from Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt, ahead of a summit on Gaza, he said the expansion of UN humanitarian aid is underway amid what he called “a time of precarious hope” for many people.
“It is a moment of opportunity, but also a moment that requires determined patience, creativity and sustained generosity,” he said.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN teams have now obtained Israeli approval for 190,000 metric tons of aid, with cooking gas entering Gaza for the first time since March and with more food, tents and medical supplies entering daily.