On Monday, Egypt hosted an international conference in Cairo to garner humanitarian support for Gaza, which has been devastated by over a year of conflict between Hamas and Israel.
The event was attended by numerous senior regional and Western officials, as well as UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed and other top UN representatives, according to Egypt’s Foreign Ministry.
The conference was convened amid a rapidly worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, particularly in the northern regions, which have been nearly cut off from the rest of the Strip for almost two months.
Discussions at the conference focused on the political, security, and humanitarian challenges in Gaza, with a particular emphasis on supporting the operations of UNRWA, the UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees.
On Sunday, UNRWA announced it would suspend aid deliveries through the Kerem Shalom crossing, Gaza’s main cargo entry point, due to the threat of armed groups looting aid convoys. The agency cited the breakdown of law and order in Gaza, which it attributed to Israel’s policies.
This move by UNRWA could exacerbate Gaza’s already dire humanitarian situation, as a second cold and rainy winter approaches. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians remain in overcrowded and unsanitary tent camps, heavily dependent on international aid.
Experts have warned of the potential for famine in Gaza’s northern regions, which have been almost entirely isolated by Israeli forces since early October.
In response, Israel’s military body responsible for coordinating humanitarian aid to Gaza stated on X (formerly Twitter) that it would continue to work with the international community to increase aid deliveries through Kerem Shalom and other crossings. It also claimed that in November, UNRWA coordinated less than 10% of the aid that entered Gaza.