Today, Administrator Samantha Power traveled from Amman, Jordan to El-Arish Egypt to reiterate the United States' commitment to the protection of civilians, consistent with international humanitarian law, and the absolute necessity for humanitarian supplies crossing into Gaza to continue at, and exceed, the levels reached during the humanitarian pause.
Administrator Power accompanied a U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Air Force C-17 Globemaster airlifting 36,000 pounds of United Nations food and nutrition assistance, medical supplies, and winter items to El Arish, Egypt, where they will be further transported by ground to Gaza. This aid is in addition to 54,000 pounds of UN supplies delivered by DoD to El-Arish for the people in Gaza last week, as well as more than 500,000 pounds of emergency food assistance from the U.S. to help civilians in Gaza. The Administrator spoke with and thanked the U.S. servicemembers who are coordinating these vital humanitarian deliveries and the humanitarian partners facilitating the delivery of supplies into Gaza.
While in El-Arish, Administrator Power visited the Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC) commodities warehouse to meet with humanitarian workers working around the clock to accelerate humanitarian aid to people in Gaza and to hear about the efforts to scale up and streamline the international response. During her visit, Administrator Power spoke with ERC and UN staff, and thanked them for their tireless effort in expanding, providing, and delivering life-saving assistance to Palestinians. The Administrator also expressed her condolences for the deaths of aid workers.
During her visit, Administrator Power announced that the United States, through USAID, will provide more than $21 million in additional humanitarian assistance for the people of Gaza and the West Bank affected by the Israel-Hamas conflict. The funding announced today will support the provision of additional essential hygiene and shelter supplies, food, psychosocial care, critical health services, and the establishment of an NGO-operated field hospital in Gaza. Administrator Power noted that additional flights carrying much-needed humanitarian assistance are expected in the coming days.
The United States will continue to strongly support the humanitarian response in Gaza and work closely with our partners in the region to accelerate and expand life-saving assistance to further support those in need.
