Gaza: ‘One door’ insufficient as aid lifeline for 2.2 million people

As the war in Gaza between Israel and Palestinian militants reaches the 100 day mark, the UN is working flat out to meet the dire needs of hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians “through one door” at the Rafah crossing, a restriction imposed by Israel that has to change, said the UN newly-appointed Resident Coordinator on Saturday.At least 200 truckloads each day are needed and despite the “outstanding” efforts of national and international partners, UN humanitarians are stuck having to bring all supplies through a single choke point on Gaza’s southern frontier with Egypt, built as a pedestrian crossing, said Jamie McGoldrick.The veteran UN aid official spoke exclusively to UN News on Saturday, in his first interview since becoming the interim Resident Coordinator in the Palestinian Occupied Territory late last month.The Irish national served in the same role, where he is also UN Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, between 2018 and 2020.Prior to that, he was the UN’s Humanitarian and Resident Coordinator in Yemen at the height of the brutal civil conflict there which began in 2015. He has also worked with the International Red Cross.Mr. McGoldrick recently returned from Gaza, and spoke to Ezzat El-Ferri from Jerusalem, where the UN Special Coordinator’s office (UNSCO) is headquartered, with other offices in the West Bank city of Ramallah and the Gaza Strip. 

This content originally appeared on UN News - Global perspective Human stories and was authored by Ezzat El-Ferri.