Plan International trucks have now delivered food to approximately 9000 people inside Gaza, with more trucks on the border waiting to deliver lifesaving supplies that must now be allowed to flow into the region.
The news comes following the call from 100+ NGOs last week for Israel to clear the way for the growing backlog from humanitarian organisations seeking to bring in lifesaving goods. Their exclusion has left hospitals without basic supplies, children, people with disabilities, and older people dying from hunger and preventable illnesses, and aid workers themselves going to work hungry.
Plan International Australia CEO Susanne Legena said:
“Australians have been heartbroken at the images of children being starved in Gaza. Thanks to a huge response to our recent appeal, Australians' donations are now packed on Plan International trucks and have started crossing the border. But we need to do so much more.”
“We need a permanent ceasefire and unrestricted access for all humanitarians, and in the meantime we urgently need more donations to help us get as much food into Gaza as our trucks can carry,” said Legena.
Plan International Egypt is one of very few international organisations currently authorised to cross the border, and along with our local and international partners, currently has 22 trucks at the border awaiting clearance.
Rozan Khalifeh, Plan International Egypt Country Director, said:
“In Gaza, we know that one in three people have not eaten for days, and that most of those being starved are children. When food is blocked from getting in, children die first — and it is an agonising death.
“With our local and international partners, Plan International Egypt is working tirelessly to get aid to children and families in Gaza. Two trucks carrying 2,250 food baskets were officially handed over to the Palestinian Red Crescent inside Gaza on the 6th of August . This represents enough food to feed 9000 people for three days. We have more food supplies at the border waiting for clearance to enter Gaza.
“Every truck that reaches Gaza is a lifeline, but access must be sustained, not symbolic," said Khalifeh.
PLAN calls on all states and donors to:
- Press Israel to end the weaponisation of aid, including through bureaucratic obstruction, such as the INGO registration procedures.
- Demand the immediate and unconditional opening of all land crossings and conditions for the delivery of lifesaving humanitarian aid.
- To support Plan International to get more life saving humanitarian aid into Gaza, donate here or visit www.plan.org.au/appeal/middle-east-crisis
For more info or interview requests contact -
James Norman (0451291775)
[email protected]
