Global community urged to aid Gaza

Abu Dhabi: The United Arab Emirates and the United Nations have called on the international community to come forward to extend assistance to the people of Gaza who are passing through difficult times.

"These are exceptionally dangerous and difficult times for the people of Gaza, and it is imperative that the international community extends its assistance wisely," said Abdul Haq Amiri, Head of United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in Dubai.

He was speaking at the donors meeting held yesterday in Abu Dhabi under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the UAE Red Crescent Authority. "By hosting this meeting, the UAE is providing an opportunity for donors to gain a clearer picture of what the priority needs are, and the best and fastest means of channelling assistance to people ...," said Amiri.

Review

The meeting was chaired by Dr Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, and held in collaboration with the UNOCHA. The meeting reviewed the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and identified both the key needs and priority funding requirements.

Ambassadors from donor countries, representatives from UN agencies and non-governmental agencies in the UAE, and charity foundations attended the meeting, in which Peter Ford, Representative of the Commissioner General of the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA), gave a briefing about the organisation's activities and funding requirements in Gaza.

Toll

"The United Nations is making every effort to relieve the suffering and pain of the people of Gaza," Ford said.

"The population is already paying the price of a prolonged obstruction of humanitarian assistance, and now we are witnessing large-scale killing and destruction."

Since the Israeli military operation "Cast Lead" began on December 27 last year, more than 900 Palestinians have been killed and more than 3,900 injured-a significant proportion of whom were women and children.