Denmark pledges humanitarian aid to Gaza and the West Bank

The Danish contribution will help the civilian population, who is severely affected by the drastically deteriorating humanitarian situation. This comes after the attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7^th and the subsequent fighting and military operation in and around Gaza.

Minister for Development Cooperation and Global Climate Policy Dan Jørgensen says:

“The humanitarian situation especially in Gaza is very critical. Therefore, we are increasing the humanitarian emergency aid by DKK 50 million, aimed at meeting the dire needs of the civilian population in a tragic situation.”

According to the UN, 1.3 million civilians out of 2.2 million inhabitants in Gaza and the West Bank currently need humanitarian aid. It is estimated that up to 1 million civilians have fled to other areas of Gaza during the past week, and that approximately 2,780 persons have died in Gaza, including 724 children.

It is expected that the humanitarian situation will worsen further in the coming days. Especially the shortage of food, water, electricity, fuel and medical supplies is expected to increase further. It is important to restore humanitarian access, so humanitarian supplies can enter Gaza. The Danish Government supports the diplomatic efforts on this matter.

The Danish humanitarian aid will be distributed as follows;

• DKK 33 million to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) to support urgent humanitarian needs for civilians in Gaza and the West Bank.
• DKK 17 million in support of efforts by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza to deliver emergency aid, treatment of the wounded, and humanitarian diplomacy, including negotiations on humanitarian access.

Background
The humanitarian contribution is solely aimed at meeting the basic needs of the civilian population, including access to water, food, and shelter. Consequently, the humanitarian aid is excluded from the government’s decision announced on October 10^th to put Danish development assistance to Palestine on hold, while conducting a thorough review.