Ceasefire must hold, UN says, as Gaza in midst of humanitarian disaster

The head of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), Jorge Moreira da Silva, made the appeal on a visit to Gaza on Thursday.

Transcript

00:00The head of the United Nations Office for Project Services says the humanitarian disaster

00:10is continuing in the Gaza Strip.

00:13Since Israel declared UNRWA, the UN agency, illegal after distributing aid in Gaza for

00:18decades, UNOPS has had to urgently take over.

00:22The head of UNOPS visited Gaza on Thursday.

00:25His agency is now providing all of Gaza's fuel, which is the only source of energy.

00:31He said 70% of the infrastructure has been destroyed.

00:34I was puzzled by what I saw on infrastructure.

00:42The collapse of the infrastructure, the collapse of the housing, the collapse of the roads.

00:4770% of all infrastructure is destroyed.

00:52So the key point from my visit to Gaza is it's fundamental to bring all aid, all the

00:58humanitarian aid that is needed in terms of emergence, but it's fundamental to prepare

01:03early recovery.

01:04Early recovery means removing the rubble, rehabilitating the roads, bringing electricity,

01:13bringing sanitation, constructing the hospitals and the schools.

01:18Euronews asked him about US President Trump's decision to freeze aid and what role the EU

01:23could have.

01:24He didn't want to comment on any member state's specific decision, but he was clear that the

01:31international community needs to help avert the humanitarian disaster in Gaza.

01:37I so clearly hope the expectation that the ceasefire will last and that the worst has

01:45already passed.

01:47So we cannot fail.

01:48We cannot fail.

01:50It's important that the international community puts the pressure that is needed on the parties

01:57to preserve the ceasefire, but also that the international community provides all aid into

02:03Gaza.

02:05The European Commission announced last month a new humanitarian aid package for Gaza worth

02:10120 million euro, which brings total EU humanitarian assistance to Gaza to over 450 million euro

02:18since 2023, plus EU air brigade flights which have delivered over 3,800 tonnes of aid.

02:26This visit to Gaza was part of a UN OPS mission in the Middle East, which also includes Lebanon

02:31and Syria.