44K water bottles transported to Gaza enough for 22K people for 1 day

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
22 Oct 2023 00:55
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The situation in the Gaza Strip is "catastrophic" and the "world must do more" according to a statement signed by five UN agencies.

Trucks with humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip enter from Egypt's Rafah border crossing on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023 (AP)

As part of the 20-truck convoy that was transported through the Rafah border crossing, the United Nations Children's Fund announced that it had provided around 44,000 bottles of water to Gaza; a quantity that would be enough for 22,000 people for a single day.

“The people of Gaza need a commitment for much, much more—a continuous delivery of aid to Gaza at the scale that is needed,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Cairo "Peace Summit".

In a similar vein, five United Nations agencies, on Saturday, announced that the situation in the Gaza Strip has been "catastrophic" as they urged for further international assistance given the deteriorating conditions across the Strip.

"More than 1.6 million people in Gaza are in critical need of humanitarian aid," said the statement from the agencies, adding that "children, pregnant women, and the elderly remain the most vulnerable."

The statement also underscored that "nearly half of Gaza's population are children" and that "Gaza was a desperate humanitarian situation before the most recent hostilities," however, "it is now catastrophic."

"The world must do more," urged the statement by the signatories: the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, the World Food Programme, the UNDP, and the UNFPA.

Rafah border opens for first aid trucks to Gaza

On Saturday, the Rafah border crossing was opened to allow the first trucks carrying humanitarian aid, which amount to 20, to Gaza from Egypt. Among the aid supplies were medical supplies and other things not specified yet.

Sputnik reported on Friday that around 200 trucks with humanitarian aid were waiting for the border to open.

This comes as tonnes of supplies, including food, medication, water purification equipment, hygiene items, and blankets, continue to accumulate at El Arish airport in Egypt's Sinai region, yet only twenty trucks were allowed in.