Today, the United States airlifted 24.5 metric tons, more than 54,000 pounds, of UN humanitarian supplies to provide vitally needed medical supplies and food and nutrition assistance to the people of Gaza. A U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft delivered the items to Egypt, where they will be transported via ground into Gaza and then distributed by UN agencies. The United States is planning additional flights in the coming days. This is in addition to the more than 500,000 pounds of food assistance delivered by the United States last week alone.
Today's flight includes medical supplies to support the health system in Gaza and ready-to-use foods for the displaced populations, both adults and children. With 1.7 million people internally displaced and 2.2 million in need of humanitarian assistance, increased humanitarian supplies are essential to saving lives and alleviating suffering for the most vulnerable.
At the request of USAID, the Department of Defense U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), began transporting these life-saving supplies to help thousands of people amid a humanitarian pause in hostilities to further a surge of life-saving assistance to Palestinian civilians. The United States will continue to lead the humanitarian response in Gaza to further support those in desperate need.
The United States has mobilized $100 million in humanitarian assistance to help civilians affected by the conflict. The United States is also by far the largest donor to the UN's humanitarian efforts in Gaza, including the largest contributor to UNRWA, the primary implementer on the ground in Gaza. We are grateful for the additional contributions from a number of donor partners who have already pledged significant funding, and we continue to advocate for others to do the same.
The UN's global appeal in response to the crisis remains woefully underfunded, with only 21 percent funded, and we call on the international community to urgently step up their support and deliver on commitments pledged.
