Egypt rallies for humanitarian support for Gaza

Egypt on Monday hosted an international conference to rally humanitarian support for Gaza which has been wracked by more than a year of war between Hamas and Israel.

The conference in Cairo was attended by many senior regional and Western officials, according to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed and other senior UN officials also attended.

The conference came as the humanitarian situation has rapidly deteriorated in Gaza, especially in the Strip’s northern areas which have been almost cut off for nearly two months.

The conference addressed the political, security, and humanitarian aspects of the situation in Gaza, with a particular emphasis on supporting UNRWA’s operations, according to the ministry.

On Sunday, UNRWA, the main aid provider for Palestinians, said it was halting aid deliveries through Kerem Shalom, the main cargo crossing into Gaza because of the threat of armed gangs who looted aid convoys.

The agency blamed the breakdown of law and order in Gaza on Israel’s policies.

The UN agency’s decision could worsen Gaza’s humanitarian crisis as a second cold, rainy winter sets in, with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in squalid tent camps and reliant on international aid.

Experts already warned of famine in the north, which Israeli forces have almost completely isolated since early October.

The Israeli military body in charge of humanitarian aid to Gaza said on X that it will continue to work with the international community to increase aid into Gaza through Kerem Shalom and other crossings, and said UNRWA coordinated less than 10% of the aid that entered Gaza in November.