Britain has unveiled an additional £19 million ($24 million) in humanitarian support for Gaza, as announced by International Development Minister Anneliese Dodds on December 2. This funding comes as Dodds prepares to attend a crucial aid conference in Cairo, aimed at addressing the escalating humanitarian disaster in the region.
As the situation in Gaza worsens, Dodds urged Israel to facilitate more aid access. “It is imperative that Israel immediately acts to ensure unimpeded access for aid to Gaza,” she said, pointing to particular needs for food and shelter as winter closes in.
Dodds believes the Cairo summit has given an important opportunity for concerted action, as it provided the best platform to collect influential voices in order to devise workable solutions to deal with the ongoing humanitarian crises.
The newly pledged funds will be allocated to key UN agencies, with £12 million (over $15 million) designated for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the World Food Programme (WFP). The remaining £7 million (over $8.8 million) will support the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
This announcement comes after continuous accusations by aid organizations that Israel has been limiting the number of trucks it allows into Gaza, letting through only a portion of the basic supplies required. On December 1, UNRWA declared that it had halted the delivery of aid through the Kerem Shalom crossing due to safety concerns, describing conditions as “impossible.”
This is the latest contribution, which brings the UK’s total humanitarian aid for the Palestinian territories in 2023 to £99 million.
Dodds arrived in Cairo to begin a three-day regional mission that will include meetings in Israel and the Palestinian territories. Her visit comes against the backdrop of a devastating humanitarian crisis following the recent conflict in Gaza.
Statistics from the Hamas-run health ministry show Israel’s retaliatory strikes against Hamas following the latter’s October 7 attack have caused at least 44,429 deaths in Gaza. On its part, Israeli data reveal that the initial attack by Hamas killed 1,207, most of whom were civilians.
