Representational.
United Nations: Tom Fletcher, the UN humanitarian chief, told reporters Thursday that officials have 170,000 metric tonnes of medicine, aid and other supplies at the ready for when they are given a green light.
“We are ready to roll,” Fletcher said, warning that there should be no “backsliding” from either side of the agreement. He outlined the plans for the first 60 days of the ceasefire, which would include an increase in the pipeline of supplies to hundreds of trucks every day.
“We will scale up the provision of food across Gaza to reach 2.1 million people who need food aid, and around 5,00,000 people who need nutrition,” he said.
Meanwhile, the freshly announced ceasefire deal in Gaza has brought relative calm in the enclave for the first time in months, Al Jazeera reported.
Gazans took to the streets to celebrate the peace, and many hoped it was a real stoppage of the conflict.
A local from the war-ravaged territory spoke to Al Jazeera with a positive mind that he is thanking god for the ceasefire and end of bloodshed and killing. He said that all of Gaza is happy.
Another local resident said that the current situation in Gaza is historic and long-awaited by Palestinian citizens.
Al Jazeera correspondent in Gaza, Hani Mahmoud, reported that there has been a collective sigh of relief among the enclave’s suffering population. Now all are waiting for critical aid, food and medical supplies.
According to the World Health Organisation’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, his agency is ready to scale up its work to meet the serious health needs of patients across Gaza. He added that the best medicine is peace.