November 22, 2023 — The ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ (̽»¨¾«Ñ¡) welcomes any respite from the fighting and bombardment in Gaza. In the immediate-term, it is critical to use this pause to massively increase the flow of humanitarian supplies into and within all of Gaza, wherever it is needed, and to ensure the safe release of hostages. The assistance should be scaled up alongside safety for civilians and aid workers. Israel should immediately allow for the permanent resumption of sufficient fuel, water and electricity supplies, without which humanitarian needs will continue to deepen.
The ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ is calling for aid to be delivered impartially by humanitarian agencies. This must include prioritized medical supplies, food, shelter and dignity kits for women, and the assurance of safety to provide vital protection services and healthcare. This supply should be based solely on assessed humanitarian needs, and free from interference, leveraging all border crossings to reach Palestinians in need.
Everything possible must be done to scale humanitarian aid during this pause. However, four days is not enough time to meet what are now catastrophic levels of humanitarian need. The scale of suffering requires a massive and sustained humanitarian assistance effort, and civilians must have protection that has been gravely absent. The ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ has explained why, given the scale of the destruction, and the conduct of the parties, it is not possible to propose limits on the duration of a humanitarian ceasefire. All diplomatic efforts should now be focused on ensuring that civilians in Gaza are not again returned to war, and that all the hostages are released.