Jordan's King Abdullah II urged the global community to support humanitarian organizations in the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis caused by Israel's relentless bombing and blockade.
According to a statement by the Royal Hashemite Court, the monarch met United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) chief Philippe Lazzarini in Amman and reaffirmed the importance of an immediate cease-fire in the besieged Palestinian enclave, and enabling the work of humanitarian organizations to proceed without impediments.
UNRWA is the main UN agency operating in the Gaza Strip, which has been under heavy bombardment since the Oct. 7 cross-border offensive by Hamas. The Israeli army widened its air and ground attacks over the weekend, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a "second stage" of the "war with Hamas."
Nearly 9,850 people have been killed in the conflict, including at least 8,306 Palestinians and 1,400 Israelis.
The UNRWA says as many as 63 of its staffers have also been killed since then. Nearly 672,000 displaced Palestinians are sheltering in 149 UNRWA installations across the Gaza Strip, facing "increasingly desperate conditions."
Gaza's 2.3 million residents are grappling with shortages of food, water, fuel, and medicine due to Israel's blockade of the enclave.
Over 30 aid trucks went into Gaza through the Rafah border crossing on Sunday, according to the U.N. coordinator for peace in Middle East Tor Wennesland. "We are making progress on deliveries - more in today," he said on X. "I recognize the role of Egypt in supporting these efforts, along w/ the U.N., to alleviate the suffering of people in Gaza."
UN says 117 relief supply trucks have arrived in Gaza Strip so far
A total of 117 trucks with aid supplies have arrived in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war more than three weeks ago, although the U.N. says that falls far short of what is needed.
Despite their small quantity, the goods would play a "crucial role" in strengthening essential health care in Gaza, the U.N. emergency relief office OCHA said in Geneva.
According to U.N. projections, at least 100 truckloads are actually needed every day to supply the 2.2 million people who live in the Gaza Strip with basic necessities. OCHA says that before the war began an average of 500 trucks entered the territory every day during the week.
On Sunday, 33 trucks arrived in the sealed-off coastal strip, making it the largest single-day delivery since the start of the current hostilities.
OCHA says the supplies include water, food and medicines. "The increase is welcome, but a much larger quantity is needed on an ongoing basis to avoid further deterioration of the humanitarian situation, including civil unrest," OCHA said.