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Press Release

13 January 2009

UK contributes £1 million to Gaza emergency fund

The UK is contributing £1 million for the UN Humanitarian Emergency Response Fund (HRF), to support humanitarian efforts in Gaza, International Development Minister Mike Foster announced today. The money will allow the UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator flexibility to use it for emerging priorities to help the worst affected in the Gaza crisis. For example, it could be used to provide urgent shelter for the most vulnerable.

The UN estimates that around 100,000 people have been displaced as a result of the conflict within Gaza and over 28,000 live in temporary shelters. The £1 million contribution will help the UN's local Humanitarian Coordinator to quickly allocate funds to emerging priorities, making them available to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other organisations with staff on the ground to meet immediate humanitarian needs. The money is part of the $10 million (approximately £6.8 million) DFID recently pledged to help improve the rapidly deteriorating living conditions in Gaza.

Mike Foster said:

"The humanitarian situation in Gaza is desperate and relief is urgently needed. That is why we are giving £1 million to the Humanitarian Emergency Response Fund (HRF) to enable NGOs and UN agencies to provide emergency help to people in immediate need."

"Distributing aid in the Gaza Strip remains incredibly dangerous and the UN and non-governmental aid agencies are doing heroic work under very difficult circumstances. The UK has repeatedly called for an immediate and durable ceasefire. I urge all parties to the conflict to respect their obligations to ensure safe and unimpeded passage of humanitarian aid to vulnerable civilians."

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Background

1. On 31 December, DFID announced $10 million in response to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Of that, £4 million has been allocated for UN Refugee and Works Agency’s Flash Appeal that was issued on 31 December and now £1 million is being announced for the UN’s Humanitarian Emergency Response Fund, under the auspices of the UN Humanitarian Coordinator who will decide where to allocate the funding. This is in addition to DFID’s existing £100 million funding commitment to UNRWA over five years to help Palestinian refugees in the region, including the 70% of Gazans who are refugees. In 2008 DFID provided £19 million to UNRWA for its work with Palestinian refugees and £2 million to the Red Cross to provide food, medicines and shelter in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We have also provided over £50 million to help the Palestinian Authority pay doctors' and teachers' salaries and provide essential services in both the West Bank and Gaza.

2. Distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza has been difficult for some time. Since Hamas’ violent take over of Gaza in June 2007, Israeli restrictions on border crossings have been severe, causing shortages of aid supplies and affecting aid staff (no international NGO has been able to get staff into Gaza since 4 November). The recent hostilities have brought about almost complete closure of the crossings and created severe insecurity in Gaza that has made it very difficult for aid staff to operate and aid recipients to access aid at distribution centres. On 8 January UNRWA temporarily suspended its movement around the Strip because one of its truck drivers was killed by Israeli fire. Following Israeli security assurances, operations were resumed on 10 January but it remains very dangerous for humanitarian workers to operate within the Strip.

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