Gaza, Jan 21 All sectors in the Gaza Strip require full support following the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel that took effect on Sunday, a UN official said on Tuesday.
"The role of the private sector in Gaza must be strengthened, and shelters in the Strip must be supported," Muhannad Hadi, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, told a press conference in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
Hadi also stressed the need to bolster the work of UN agencies in partnership with local community organizations, noting that sectors such as health, education, nutrition, and psychological support are in dire need of assistance.
He called for "providing the necessary assistance to the people of Gaza in the reconstruction process to return families to their homes," Xinhua news agency reported.
The ceasefire put a pause to 15 months of fighting that caused immense human loss and destruction in the besieged enclave.
According to the UN, as of December 2024, approximately 69 per cent of the Gaza Strip, or 170,812 buildings, had been damaged or destroyed.
On Sunday, a long line of trucks, laden with humanitarian aid, snaked its way towards the heavily-guarded Rafah crossing, hours after a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas came into effect.
The trucks, carrying food, clothes, medical equipment, tents, mobile toilets, and other relief materials, had been parked in several cities in Egypt's North Sinai Governorate, mainly Arish, Sheikh Zuweid, and Rafah, some of which had been waiting for months to reach Palestinians in need.
"I have brought in a lot of aid to the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war in October 2023, until the entry of aid to the Strip became almost non-existent due to the harsh Israeli policies," said 65-year-old truck driver Ahmed Ibrahim Ahmed.
"Today, I feel happy not only because I will be able to bring in this aid to the residents of the Gaza Strip, but also because the people of Gaza will be able to sleep without fear for the first time in more than a year after the ceasefire came into effect this morning," he told Xinhua.
Ibrahim said his truck was carrying clothes and blankets, noting that "the residents of the Strip need them greatly due to the bitter winter cold they suffer from while living in tents."
The ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, with its first stage spanning 42 days, was reached on Wednesday through the mediation of Egypt, Qatar, and the United States. It began taking effect on Sunday.
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