Burak Bir
16 January 2025•Update: 16 January 2025
LONDON
The European Union on Thursday announced a new €120 million (approximately $123.4 million) humanitarian package for Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.
The EU Commission has announced a new aid package for Gaza as part of the EU's "long-standing commitment to support Palestinians in need" following the latest developments in the region.
The latest package, worth €120 million, brings total EU humanitarian assistance to Gaza to over €450 million ($462.9 million) since 2023 and comes in addition to the EU Air Bridge Flights, which have delivered over 3,800 tons of aid, the EU Commission said in a statement.
"The ceasefire and hostage release agreement offers hope the region desperately needed. But the humanitarian situation remains grim in Gaza," Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement.
The aid package will include food assistance, healthcare assistance, water, sanitation, and hygiene support, shelter assistance, and protection assistance to support the safety and dignity of vulnerable populations.
Qatari Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani announced late Wednesday evening that mediators had reached a cease-fire agreement in the Gaza Strip and that its implementation would begin this Sunday.
The announcement comes on day 467 of Israel's genocide in Gaza, which has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
The war has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst global humanitarian disasters ever.
In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
