Merve Gül Aydoğan Ağlarcı
21 January 2025•Update: 21 January 2025
HAMILTON, Canada
The UN's deputy special coordinator for the Middle East peace process said Tuesday that Gazans do not want to depend on humanitarian aid but they want to work as part of the reconstruction effort.
"When I entered Gaza this morning, it felt like this is probably one of the happiest days of my professional life," Muhannad Hadi said at a virtual news conference, reflecting on his 35-year humanitarian journey.
Highlighting the noticeable change in Gaza compared to previous visits, he said: "The people I met had a different attitude. It made me very happy to see that people already started moving, some of them going back to their places of origin."
Hadi said that while humanitarian assistance is still needed, the people of Gaza are eager to rebuild their lives.
"All of them, they told me that what they want now immediately is they want to go home and they want income-generating activities. They want to work," he said. "They don't like the fact that they have been depending on humanitarian aid."
Noting the importance of the global media, Hadi said: "I think it's time for international correspondents to make sure that they enter Gaza and report live from there."
Hadi emphasized the significance of collaboration between the UN, humanitarian partners, member states and the private sector in the early recovery process.
He provided details about aid delivery, and said: "The first day, we reached over 600 (trucks). The second day, I'm glad to say we exceeded the 900 (trucks) mark, and probably today we will reach somewhere close to 900 maybe."
He stressed, however, that the focus should not be solely on the number of trucks but on essential services.
"It's not about trucks. It's about the people," Hadi said, highlighting the need for protection, psychosocial support and education.
Hadi called the ceasefire that is in place "a golden opportunity" for recovery but cautioned against complacency.
"Let’s not assume that, because there is a ceasefire, life is going to be rosy and our work is going to be a walk in the park," he said.
Despite the challenges, Hadi expressed confidence in his team's ability to support the people of Gaza. "We will make sure that we will be able to deal with the challenges, and hopefully make those challenges and opportunities for the people of Gaza," he said.
A ceasefire deal that began Sunday suspended Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza which has killed nearly 47,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured over 110,700 others since Oct. 7, 2023.
The three-phase agreement includes a prisoner exchange and sustained calm, aiming for a permanent truce and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
The Israeli onslaught has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst global humanitarian disasters ever.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants in November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
