'The UN is ready to act' to get aid flowing into Gaza, UNOPS executive director says

The United Nations is in a position to provide an immediate supply of aid to Gaza, the Executive Director of the Office of Project Services (UNOPS) told Euronews, saying the international body has the logistical and humanitarian means at its disposal to provide relief to the civilian population in the coastal enclave.

"The UN is ready. This is the time to act and the UN is ready to act," Jorge Moreira da Silva said.

The Portuguese official said that the UN has 170,000 tonnes of food, medicine and other humanitarian aid ready to enter Gaza.

"In the first 30 days of a ceasefire, we can bring 100 trucks of food daily. We can bring, as we did in the last ceasefire, 1 million litres of fuel. We can put six hospitals functioning, we can increase the access to water and sanitation from 20% to 80%," he added.

UNOPS is also able to provide tents and shelters. However, the UN official admits that one element is missing to take action.

"We just need the political conditions," he said.

As representatives of Israel and Hamas hammer out a ceasefire deal with mediators in Egypt, UNOPS is currently providing fuel to the Strip, to ensure bakeries, hospitals and waste disposal continue to function.

"Without fuel, we wouldn't have any basic human needs," he said, adding that fuel is being transported into Gaza under difficult conditions.

The essential role of the UN

The UN agency that works with Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, has long faced accusations from Israel that it has turned a blind eye to militants among its staff.

Israeli claims that around a dozen of UNRWA's 13,000 employees in Gaza participated in the 7 October 2023 attack and that many others support or sympathise with Hamas.

UNRWA has always denied those claims.

In January, Israel enacted laws passed by the Knesset the previous October banning UNRWA from operating on Israeli territory.

That decision was met with international outcry, both from within the United Nations and among the wider international community, as a blow to providing vital assistance to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, as well as in other countries across the Middle East.

Jorge Moreira da Silva says UNRWA played a vital role in the distribution of humanitarian aid on the ground.

"Without UNRWA, it is impossible to operate, because UNRWA is the agency that, for instance, provides direct support on health and education to the children and to the citizens in Gaza," he said.

Pending a political solution for Gaza, the executive director of UNOPS is looking to the future.

He points out that his agency is preparing for the next phase: the evacuation of the 50 million tonnes of waste and rubble in the Palestinian enclave.