UN allocates $18.6 million to Gaza for emergency humanitarian needs

The United Nations has allocated $18.6 million to Gaza for emergency humanitarian needs and plans to launch a flash appeal next week for funds to cover needs over the next three months.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock allocated USD 4.5 million from the U.N.'s emergency relief fund for Gaza on Friday, following the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas militants who control the Gaza Strip. Earlier in the week, Lowcock released $14.1 million from the fund.

Dujarric said the U.N. was able to send 13 trucks with food, COVID-19 vaccines, disposable medical items, drugs including emergency medicines, and first aid kits into Gaza following the partial reopening of the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel as the cease-fire took hold.

Dujarric said the Erez passenger crossing was also opened temporarily for senior humanitarian officials to enter Gaza including Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees known as UNRWA, and the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for the region, Lynn Hastings.

The U.N. spokesman said the cease-fire announcement led to a mass exodus from UNRWA schools where thousands of Palestinians had sought safety. The number still in UNRWA schools on Friday dropped to less than 1,000 from a high of over 66,000.