00:00Juliette Thoma is the Director of Communications at the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees.
00:06She joins us now. Juliette, thank you for your time.
00:08We heard just a little earlier that the UAE and Jordan have been airdropping supplies into Gaza 27 tons.
00:16Is this welcome news, even though it isn't the most efficient delivery system?
00:22Thanks for having me. Not really, especially since there's a much easier way.
00:28If the gates are open to the Gaza Strip, we are able in the UN, including at UNRWA, to bring in 500 to 600 trucks loaded not only with food,
00:41but also with hygiene supplies, with medicine, with medical supplies that will go directly to people who need it most.
00:50So just confirm, have any UN trucks actually crossed into Gaza today?
00:54Not from UNRWA. We have 6,000 trucks that continue to be stuck in Jordan, where I am today, and in Egypt.
01:06They're loaded with life-saving supplies, and we do hope that they will be allowed into Gaza as soon as possible.
01:14What is the holdup?
01:15We've not received authorizations from the government of Israel.
01:23All right, because we know that Israel has blamed the UN, blamed agencies for not having themselves in order.
01:31What's your response to that?
01:32Well, like I said, our trucks are not even allowed to get close to Gaza.
01:39It's been five months now, nearly, and we're ready, and our teams inside Gaza are ready.
01:45You see, UNRWA is the largest humanitarian organization.
01:48We have 10,000 people on the ground who would be taking these supplies and giving it directly to people who need it most, including 1 million children.
01:58Before the Israeli-US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation took over the aid supplies in Gaza, UNRWA really had a strong distribution network across the enclave.
02:10If you do get into Gaza with the food trucks, are you confident that you can get those networks up and running again to get food delivered efficiently to people?
02:20Oh, absolutely. Like I said, we have 10,000 people who are currently in Gaza.
02:24They're, by the way, also starving and hungry themselves.
02:28They are fainting while they're on duty because they're not able to find any food.
02:34And so they are around, they are ready, and they will bring whatever we're allowed to bring in.
02:41They will give it to communities that we are serving, wherever they are.
02:46Can you give us an update on what you're hearing about water supplies?
02:49Well, we understand that there are severe shortages of water.
02:55That's also something that must be allowed to get into Gaza.
02:59Water purification tablets as well, because the water in Gaza is quite salty.
03:05And so there must be a whole package of supplies that go into Gaza, fuel included.
03:11So it's not just about food, hence why the airdrops are not exactly necessary and can be prevented if we're allowed to bring in trucks loaded with all sorts of supplies, not only food.
03:25There's a pause in fighting, Israel says, for 10 hours every day, just for three areas, though.
03:31Is that going to help once you are allowed back in?
03:34What is needed right now is, well, first of all, we are in, just to clarify, our supplies are not in and our international staff are not in.
03:45So we have a team of 10,000 people on the ground.
03:49To your question on the poses, what we need in Gaza is a ceasefire, is a long-term ceasefire that will finally bring a respite,
03:57a deal that will also release the hostages and also bring in a standard flow of supplies to the people of Gaza.
04:07Thank you so much for your time.
04:08Juliet Thoma is the Director of Communications at the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees.
