UN to launch $2.8 billion global appeal for Gaza, West Bank Palestinians

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - The UN will launch a $2.8 billion appeal Wednesday for donations to meet the needs of 3.3 million people in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released a statement that noted that the UN and its partners' appeal covers the period from April to December 2024.

The appeal is a continuation of the one that was initially launched Oct. 12, and revised in November.

Andrea De Domenico, who leads the UN humanitarian efforts in Gaza and the West Bank, emphasized the urgent need for substantial operations to rebuild essential services and uphold basic standards.

He stressed that efforts cannot be effectively carried out amid ongoing military actions.

He said during the week of April 6 - 12, 41% of UN requests, which necessitated passage through Israeli checkpoints, were rejected.

Furthermore, just last week, a convoy from the UN children's agency, or UNICEF, and the World Food Program found itself caught in the crossfire in an area designated as safe.

De Domenico highlighted extensive delays convoys face at checkpoints, often spending hours waiting, only to be cleared in the afternoon, rendering it too late for safe deliveries and forcing it to return in daylight hours.

Israel has waged a military offensive on Gaza since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group, Hamas, in October, which killed less than 1,200 people.

Nearly 33,900 Palestinians have since been killed and 76,664 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the seaside enclave, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the brink of starvation.

The war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while much of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide, and guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.