UN Allocates $11 Million for Gaza Aid as Ceasefire and Hostage Release Offer ‘Fragile Hope’

The allocation, announced Monday by Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher, will support the immediate expansion of aid operations in the Gaza Strip, including food, water, health care, and shelter for civilians impacted by two years of conflict.

This follows a $9 million allocation last week to ensure fuel supplies to hospitals and essential services, bringing the recent total DEER Gaza funding to $20 million.

The announcement comes as the ceasefire brokered by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt continues to hold, alongside the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees, offering what the UN secretary-general described as “a fragile hope of calm after months of devastation.”

Urgent scaling is needed

The UN and its partners are quickly expanding operations across Gaza as access improves, providing lifesaving aid to areas that have been cut off for months. However, a significant increase in funding is needed due to overwhelming needs.

Mr Fletcher warned that without further contributions to CERF, essential aid could not continue to reach those who need it.

Speaking from Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt, on the eve of a summit on Gaza, he said the UN’s enhanced humanitarian aid was underway in what he called “a moment of precarious hope” for many.

“This is a moment of opportunity, but also a moment that requires determined patience, creativity and sustained generosity,” he said.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN teams have now secured Israeli approval for 190,000 tonnes of aid, cooking gas entering Gaza for the first time since March and more food, tents, and medical supplies arriving daily.