11 October 2025
Palestinians in Gaza “will need tremendous support,” UNICEF told DW.
Now with the Israel-Hamas ceasefire in effect and the partial withdrawal of Israeli troops, thousands of Palestinians are returning to the north in the hope that peace will last.
Aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip are expected to increase from Sunday.
Tess Ingram, communications manager for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), told DW what conditions Palestinians are returning to in Gaza.
“The conditions here in Al-Mawasi [near the southern border town of Rafah] Incredibly crowded. “This was where people were sent when there was heavy Israeli bombardment of Gaza City last month,” Ingram said.
The UNICEF representative also described how Palestinian civilians had told him that they wanted to return to their homes, whether they were still standing or not.
“People have told me, ‘Home is home. Whether I’m returning to the rubble or returning to something that’s still standing, I want to go back to where I belong,” she told DW. “That’s why scaling up this humanitarian response is so important. If people are going to return to the devastation we know is there, they will need tremendous support.”
The United Nations’ children’s organization, UNICEF, focuses on providing humanitarian assistance to children in Gaza.
“Every aspect of their lives has been affected and they need everything from water to food, medicine to shelter,” Ingram said of children in Gaza.
Ingram said UNICEF is bringing tents and tarpaulins to families to help build temporary shelter.
“Winter is coming, so the risk is really high,” Ingram said. “It’s getting colder and the rains are just a matter of days or weeks away. So we’re also trying to bring blankets and winter clothes and shoes for the children. It’s terrible to see so many children here walking barefoot across the broken debris.”
Ingram also said UNICEF had 1,300 trucks of humanitarian aid waiting outside the Gaza Strip. “Now we need to open all the crossings and operate them efficiently so that trucks can come quickly and en masse. And then we need conditions on the ground to ensure that aid reaches those in need.”