Posted on 30 November 2023
The humanitarian pause in Gaza, initially set to conclude on Monday, is predicted to extend further amid complex negotiations. During the initial pause, Hamas released 81 hostages and Israeli prisons released 180 Palestinian women and children. Food, water, fuel and medicine has been reaching civilians in Gaza in the largest volume since humanitarian aid was allowed in on October 21.
However, the pause continue to fall short of the ceasefire being urged by much of the international community, with Marta Valdez Garecia, Humanitarian Director at Oxfam International, describing it initially as a “band-aid that will be ripped off a bleeding wound.”
November 29 marked the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, and UN Secretary General António Guterres said at the UN Security Council meeting in New York on Wednesday that it is this year falling "during one of the darkest chapters in the history of the Palestinian people".
With now 1.7 million people displaced in Gaza, Gueterres reiterated that "we need a true humanitarian ceasefire". He calls for "unrestricted access for lifesaving aid, the release of all hostages, the protection of civilians and an end to violations of international humanitarian law."