oPt: UNRWA Commissioner-General on Gaza: Airdrops are at least 100 times more costly than trucks

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Country: occupied Palestinian territory Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East Airdrops are at least 100 times more costly than trucks.Trucks carry twice as much aid as planes.If there is political will to allow airdrops - which are highly costly, insufficient and inefficient, there should be similar political will to open the road crossings.As the people of Gaza are starving to death, the only way to respond to the famine is to flood Gaza with assistance.UNRWA the largest UN agency on the ground, has 6,000 trucks loaded with aid stuck outside Gaza waiting for the green light to enter.The UN including UNRWA and partners were able to bring in 500 to 600 trucks a day during the ceasefire earlier this year.Aid reached the entire population of Gaza in safety and dignity. It succeeded to reverse the deepening starvation without any aid diversion.No alternative to the UN coordinated response with UNRWA as the backbone had provided similar results.Let’s go back to what works and let us do our job.This is what people in Gaza need today more than ever together with a lasting ceasefireBackground Information:UNRWA is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. The United Nations General Assembly established UNRWA in 1949 with a mandate to provide humanitarian assistance and protection to registered Palestine refugees in the Agency’s area of operations pending a just and lasting solution to their plight.UNRWA operates in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, The Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.Tens of thousands of Palestine refugees who lost their homes and livelihoods due to the 1948 conflict continue to be displaced and in need of support, nearly 75 years on.UNRWA helps Palestine Refugees achieve their full potential in human development through quality services it provides in education, health care, relief and social services, protection, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance, and emergency assistance. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions.