Ceasefire in Gaza Must Propel Urgent Humanitarian Action 

15 January 2025

Statement by Mercy Corps Chief Executive Officer, Tjada D'Oyen McKenna 

“This agreement offers a long-awaited glimmer of hope to millions of Palestinians who have endured over 15 months of devastating conflict, but the appalling suffering will persist unless there is an urgent and sustained scale-up of vital aid and the unblocking of critical services, including water and fuel, to Gaza. 

“People in Gaza surviving by a thread cannot endure further delays to lifesaving aid or a return to violence. The only acceptable path forward is a permanent end to the conflict that enables them to rebuild their lives and communities. Anything less will condemn them to an endless cycle of destruction, deepen the humanitarian catastrophe, and extinguish any hope for a future of peace, dignity, and recovery. 

“As Gazans experience a second wartime winter, 1.9 million displaced people are suffering through freezing nights in makeshift shelters, battling hunger, floods, fuel shortages, and a critical health crisis. At least eight people—most of them newborns—have already died from hypothermia. Meanwhile, skyrocketing prices for basic goods like flour, driven by scarce supplies and overwhelming demand, have made local markets dangerously unstable. In North Gaza, thousands of people have been almost entirely cut off from lifesaving aid and services for over three months, with no functional hospitals. The humanitarian community must be granted safe, unimpeded access to deliver aid at scale—food, water, medicine, and fuel—and to repair essential infrastructure.  

“We hope this will also bring much-needed news about the hostages to their families in Israel, offering them clarity and hope during this difficult time, while ensuring that those who are in need of urgent medical care, psychological support, or other forms of assistance receive immediate and adequate relief.  

“We urge Israel to immediately lift restrictions on the entry of aid and increase the flow of aid to meet urgent needs. Inspection processes must be expedited to prevent unnecessary delays. Commercial truck access must resume immediately to ensure households can meet their basic needs, reduce aid dependency, and stabilize the local economy. A dramatic and sustained increase in the entry of aid and commercial goods is critical to equip bakeries, hospitals, health facilities, water systems, and humanitarian operations to function at scale.  

“The agreement represents a major step forward but will only bring desperately needed relief to people in Gaza if there is a sustained ceasefire coupled with a dramatic increase in aid and commercial goods entering the Strip.” 

Since October 2023, Mercy Corps has provided support to over 200,000 people in Gaza, including emergency cash, food and hygiene kits, and psychosocial support for young people and their caregivers through wellbeing sessions, mentoring workshops, and youth sports activities. Despite the challenges, we remain committed to persevering in our efforts to provide life-saving assistance now and to help rebuild lives and communities when a ceasefire is reached.   

 

Notes: 

  • Six percent of Gaza’s population—equivalent to 160,000-- has been killed, is missing, or has left the territory since the war began. The majority – an estimated 100,000 people – have left Gaza for Egypt, when such travel was possible before Israel’s closure of the Rafah crossing in May 2024. More than 45,000 residents have been killed during the war, and about 11,000 are missing. Many of these are believed to be trapped under rubble and are assumed to be dead. (Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Dec 31)  
  • Eight people, most of them newborns, died from hypothermia as the second wartime winter deepens in Gaza. The population is acutely vulnerable given the dearth of decent shelter, blankets, winter clothing, heaters, and food. 
  • The average daily number of aid trucks allowed to enter Gaza in December fell to 76, or just 15% of the amount allowed to cross into Gaza prior to October 2023. For the entire month, only 160 trucks carrying shelter items were authorized to enter the enclave. 

 

For more information, please contact: