UNICEF spokesperson Tess Ingram says Palestinians in northern Gaza are in “desperate need” of food and water as thousands have returned to total destruction.
Speaking to Al Jazeera from the al-Mawasi area in the south of the Gaza Strip, Ingram said that in order to scale up humanitarian aid deliveries, multiple crossings into the enclave must be opened.
“The stakes are really high,” she said. “There are 28,000 children who were diagnosed with malnutrition in July and August alone, and thousands more since then. So, we need to make sure it’s not just food coming in, but malnutrition treatments, as well.”
Ingram added that while UNICEF has been clear that aid should not be used as a political bargaining chip, assistance to Gaza has been severely restricted over the past two years, and UN agencies were sidelined.
“This [ceasefire] is our opportunity to overcome all of that, to turn it right. That is why Israel has to open all of the border crossings now, and they have to let all of the aid into the Gaza Strip at scale alongside commercial goods,” she said.
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