Gaza rebuild will take 'a lot of time', says UN official

Despite pledges to increase the delivery of humanitarian aid, a UN official in Gaza has warned that rebuilding the devastated Palestinian territory will "take a very long time." Sam Rose, acting director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Gaza, told the BBC: "We're not just talking about food, medicine, buildings, roads and infrastructure, we need to rebuild individuals, families and communities."

Following a ceasefire and hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas that went into effect on Sunday, the UN said that at least 1,545 aid trucks have entered Gaza. These trucks carried much-needed food, tents, blankets, mattresses and winter clothing, supplies that had previously been stuck outside Gaza for months. The ceasefire agreement reportedly calls for 600 aid trucks, including 50 carrying fuel, to be allowed into Gaza daily during the first six-week phase. During this period, Hamas is to release 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

Mr. Rose stated, "We expect to see a significant increase in the amount of aid coming into Gaza, and many of the problems we faced during the war will disappear now that the fighting has stopped, making it easier for us to collect this aid. We are no longer moving in active conflict zones, nor do we need to coordinate all of these movements with the Israeli authorities." He also added, "Today we haven't had any major looting and crime problems." However, he also emphasized, "We have to move away from the idea of treating the needs of the people of Gaza as a function of the amount of aid coming in."

Mr. Rose further noted, "Everyone in Gaza has been traumatized by what has happened. Everyone has lost something. Most homes are now destroyed, most roads are now destroyed. This will be a long, long process of recovery and rebuilding." Meanwhile, World Health Organization Regional Director Hanan Balkhy stated that they have developed a 60-day plan to get Gaza’s health system back up and running to meet the urgent needs of the population and prioritize care for the thousands of people who have suffered life-altering injuries.

The plan includes repairing Gaza’s hospitals (half of which have stopped functioning and the rest of which are only partially operational), setting up temporary clinics in the worst-affected areas, addressing malnutrition, and controlling disease outbreaks. On Sunday night, UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher warned that the humanitarian needs of Palestinians in Gaza were "staggering." UN officials have previously blamed the humanitarian crisis on restrictions by the Israeli military on aid deliveries, hostilities, and the breakdown of law and order. Israel has maintained that there are no limits on the amount of aid entering Gaza and has accused UN agencies of failing to distribute supplies. Israel has also accused Hamas of stealing aid, which Hamas denies.

Following the ceasefire, a Palestinian woman returning to her destroyed home in northern Gaza expressed her shock at what she found after Israeli soldiers retreated. "The whole place looks like it was hit by an earthquake because of the severity of the aggression," Manal Abu Dragan told the BBC Arabic Gaza Today program. She also stated, "Whatever the cost, I will set up my tent in the north... I do not want to leave my land again." Mr. Rose said that his UNRWA team in southern Gaza has not yet been able to access northern Gaza because the Israeli military has not opened the route through the east-west Netzarim corridor. However, he said that UNRWA, as the largest humanitarian organization in Gaza, has the network and local staff to help if they are given access.

However, UNRWA is facing an impending ban by Israel that could prevent it from operating in Gaza. Two laws passed by the Israeli parliament, set to take effect next week, would prohibit the agency from operating within Israel and prevent Israeli state institutions from communicating with it. Israel has accused UNRWA of colluding with Hamas and said that 18 of its staff were involved in the October 7 attacks. The agency has fired nine staff members who were found by a UN investigation to possibly be involved and insists it is committed to remaining neutral. The UN has stated that UNRWA is irreplaceable in Gaza, while the agency's commissioner, Philippe Lazzarini, has declared that the agency’s thousands of Palestinian staff in Gaza will "stay and deliver," even if it poses "considerable personal risk" to them, if the Israeli government enforces the two laws.