UN warning on Gaza rebuilding task as aid surges with ceasefire deal

A UN authoritative successful Gaza has warned that the rebuilding process successful the devastated Palestinian territory volition "take an atrocious batch of time" contempt the promised surge successful humanitarian deliveries nether a ceasefire and hostage merchandise woody betwixt Israel and Hamas.

"We're not conscionable talking astir food, healthcare, buildings, roads, infrastructure. We've got individuals, families, communities that request to beryllium rebuilt," Sam Rose, acting manager of the UN bureau for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) successful Gaza, told the BBC.

More than 630 assistance lorries crossed into Gaza, with astatine slightest 300 going to the north, aft the ceasefire took effect connected Sunday. Mr Rose said helium hoped for the aforesaid fig oregon much would participate connected Monday.

The lorries brought successful desperately needed food, tents, blankets, mattresses and apparel for the wintertime which had been stuck extracurricular Gaza for months.

The ceasefire woody reportedly requires 600 assistance lorries, including 50 carrying fuel, to beryllium allowed into Gaza each time during the archetypal signifier lasting six weeks, during which Hamas should merchandise 33 Israeli hostages successful instrumentality for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners successful Israeli jails.

"We're expecting a large uptick successful the measurement of assistance that's coming in, and of people it's acold easier for america to spell and cod that assistance due to the fact that galore of the problems that we person faced truthful acold successful the warfare spell distant erstwhile the warring stops," Mr Rose said.

"We're nary longer moving done an progressive struggle zone. We nary longer request person to co-ordinate each these movements with the Israeli authorities," helium added. "And we've not today... faced immoderate large problems with looting and criminality."

But helium besides stressed that "we person to get distant from reasoning of people's needs successful Gaza arsenic a relation of the measurement of aid".

"Every idiosyncratic successful Gaza has been traumatised by what's gone on. Everyone has mislaid something. Most of those homes are present destroyed, astir of the roads are present destroyed," helium added. "It's going to beryllium a long, agelong process of rehabilitation and rebuilding."

The World Health Organization's determination director, Hanan Balkhy, meantime said it had a 60-day program to get Gaza's wellness strategy backmost connected its provender to conscionable the population's urgent needs and prioritize attraction for the thousands of radical with life-changing injuries.

The program includes repairing Gaza's hospitals - fractional of which are retired of work and the others are lone partially functional - mounting up impermanent clinics successful the hardest-hit areas, addressing malnutrition and controlling illness outbreaks.

On Sunday night, UN humanitarian main Tom Fletcher warned that the humanitarian needs of Palestinians successful Gaza were "staggering".

UN officials person antecedently blamed the humanitarian situation connected Israeli subject restrictions connected assistance deliveries, the hostilities and the breakdown of instrumentality and order.

Israel has insisted determination are nary limits to the magnitude of assistance that tin beryllium delivered into and crossed Gaza and blames UN agencies for failing to administer supplies. It besides accuses Hamas of stealing aid, which the radical denies.

The Israeli subject launched a run to destruct Hamas successful effect to an unprecedented cross-border onslaught connected 7 October 2023, successful which astir 1,200 radical were killed and 251 were taken hostage. Israel says 91 of the hostages stay successful captivity.

More than 47,000 radical person been killed and 111,000 injured successful Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run wellness ministry.

Most of Gaza's 2.3 cardinal colonisation has besides been displaced aggregate times, 60% of buildings are estimated to beryllium damaged oregon destroyed, the healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene systems person collapsed, and determination are terrible shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter.

In October, the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) estimated 1.84 cardinal radical crossed Gaza were experiencing precocious levels of acute nutrient insecurity, and that 133,000 radical were facing catastrophic levels, which tin pb to starvation and death.

The pursuing month, an IPC committee warned that determination was beardown likelihood that famine was "imminent" successful immoderate areas of bluish Gaza.

Before the ceasefire, the UN said the besieged bluish towns of Jabalia, Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun had been mostly chopped disconnected from nutrient assistance since the Israeli subject launched a crushed violative successful October with the stated purpose of preventing a Hamas resurgence.

A Palestinian pistillate who returned to her destroyed location successful bluish Gaza connected Monday aft the ceasefire took effect expressed daze astatine what she had recovered aft Israeli soldiers withdrew.

"The full spot looked arsenic if it had been deed by an earthquake owed to the severity of the aggression," Manal Abu al-Dragham told BBC Arabic's Gaza Today programme.

"I volition acceptable up my structure successful the northbound nary substance what it costs... I bash not privation to beryllium displaced from my onshore again."

Mr Rose said Unrwa teams successful confederate Gaza, wherever helium is based, had not yet been capable to transverse into bluish Gaza due to the fact that the Israeli subject had not yet opened up routes done the east-west Netzarim corridor.

But helium said Unrwa, arsenic the largest humanitarian organisation successful Gaza, had the networks and the radical connected the crushed who could assistance if they were fixed access.

However, Unrwa is facing looming Israeli bans which could marque it intolerable to run successful Gaza.

Two laws passed by the Israeli parliament, which are owed to instrumentality effect adjacent week, volition prohibit the bureau from operating wrong Israeli territory and forestall Israeli authorities agencies from communicating with it.

Israel has accused Unrwa of being complicit with Hamas and said 18 of its unit took portion successful the 7 October attack. The bureau has fired 9 employees that a UN probe recovered whitethorn person been progressive and insisted that it is committed to neutrality.

The UN has said Unrwa is irreplaceable successful Gaza portion the agency's commissioner general, Philippe Lazzarini, has declared that its thousands of Palestinian unit successful Gaza volition "stay and deliver" if the Israeli authorities enforces the 2 laws, adjacent though it would "come astatine sizeable idiosyncratic risk" to them.