2.4M people in Gaza, Palestine in need: UN

By Peter Kenny

GENEVA (AA) - UN humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian Territory said Thursday that 2.4 million people are in need of assistance, but the UN is targeting just 1.5 million because of funding difficulties.

Jamie McGoldrick held a news briefing in Geneva after Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, and him, launched the Humanitarian Response Plan for 2020 in Ramallah, the occupied Palestinian territory, Dec. 11.

"We've put together this plan for next year, which is to address the needs of 1.5 million people. We identify 2.4 million people in need. But we realize that the funding streams, our own capacities will make it unlikely that we can get to all of the people in need," said McGoldrick.

“Other needs are health, water, plumbing, protection and shelter," McGoldrick said, adding that 65% of Palestinians are in need of humanitarian aid experience food insecurity.

"We raised this at a time of great growing needs in Palestine because of the ongoing situation and reduced funding because of the impact of funding from UNWRA [United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees] but also from others as well," said McGoldrick.

He noted, "Most of the funding that's done for Palestine is based on political considerations."

McGoldrick said hundreds of thousands of people had become aid dependent through no fault of their own, which resulted in the precariousness of the funding.

"We find ourselves in a situation where the fragile funding and people with no alternatives but humanity and assistance, especially in Gaza, makes it for a very distressful life.

"An example that would be in UNWRA was feeding 100,000 people 10 years ago; they are now feeding up to a million people. So the numbers have gone up 10 times."