Mr. John Whyte:

In relation to water, sanitation and hygiene services, UNRWA has reached over half of the population through provision of domestic and drinking water, providing 1.4 million people with access to clean water. Each month we collect and dispose of 5,000 tonnes of solid waste, benefiting an estimated 1.7 million people. Since the beginning of the year, 900,000 people have been reached with hygiene promotion initiatives. UNRWA remains one of the largest providers of emergency learning across the Gaza Strip. Between January and September, more than 38,422 children benefited from in-person learning through the back-to-learning programme in 268 temporary learning spaces which were operational in UNRWA's shelters, focusing on expanded psychosocial support services and informal learning activities. During the same period, almost 300,000 students benefited from UNRWA's remote learning programme through three learning cycles. UNRWA operates the largest protection monitoring team in Gaza, providing services targeted towards vulnerable groups, including children, women, older people and those with disabilities. UNRWA has distributed dignity kits, sanitation and personal hygiene products, together with individual psychological first aid and family interventions. The agency continues to co-lead the site management cluster, and as of 11 September, 73 designated emergency shelters were managed by UNRWA, hosting some 82,715 displaced persons and over 1 million in the catchment areas surrounding these shelters.

With the pivoting of UNRWA services to the south following the IDF incursion into Gaza city, UNRWA has been repairing its installations to accommodate the anticipated influx of internally displaced person, IDPs, with 18 shelters now accessible following the expansion by the IDF of the so-called humanitarian zone in Khan Younis. As a result of the implementation of the Knesset legislation at the end of January 2025, UNRWA has been prevented from bringing its supplies into Gaza and these have remained since this time on trucks, in warehouses or with suppliers across Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and Israel. Approximately 5,000 truckloads of food and non-food items are waiting to enter, including sufficient food to feed the population for three months. Once the entry of this aid into Gaza is permitted, UNRWA remains in a position to resume and expand its services once supplies can enter at scale.

In an environment where politics shapes everything, it is important for member states to influence key actors involved in this conflict. UNRWA and its partners must be allowed to better deliver their services to mitigate this catastrophic situation. In the meantime, UNRWA remains steadfast and resolute and will continue to adapt in response to the unfolding situation to deliver its critical services to the community.