The UN has launched its 2020 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for the Palestinian territories with a total value of 348 million U.S. dollars. The HRP aims to provide assistance to more than 2 million Palestinians in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

Accompanied by Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator Jamie McGoldrick, said on December 11 during a press conference that half of the population of the Gaza Strip is now unemployed, so the biggest focus of the projects to be implemented according to the plan will be on the Gaza refugee camps.

To follow up on the implementation of these plans and projects, CGTN moved to the beach camp, which is located deep in the Gaza Strip and where thousands of Palestinian refugees receive direct food and health assistance. There is a main UN distribution center containing tens of tonnes of food that the UNRWA staff organize their distribution and delivery to families there.

As CGTN was wandering through the alleys of the beach camp, which directly overlooks the coast, we met with Mahmoud Al-Hissi, a Palestinian refugee father of four children, whose family relies almost entirely on UNRWA's food aid, where he receives a package of food aid containing flour, oil, sugar and canned food every a few months. 

"Life in Gaza is very difficult, the vast majority of us here are unemployed and we can't provide what our children need. So we rely on the aid packages we receive from UNRWA, and we can't imagine how tragic and difficult the situation will be if the aid stops" Mahmoud said.

The UN's data indicate that unemployment rates among Palestinians rose sharply in 2019, with nearly half of the population living below the poverty line. Furthermore, more than 60 percent of all households in the Gaza Strip suffer from food insecurity with low quality of basic services, including health care and Water supplies.

Adnan Abu Hasna, UNRWA's spokesman in Gaza, explained to CGTN that the closure imposed on the Gaza Strip is one of the most important factors hindering the real development process aiming to help the Palestinians create a strong economy that creates jobs for thousands of unemployed people.

"80 percent of Gazans depend on the assistance provided by UN organizations, especially UNRWA, which is the largest provider of aid here in the Gaza Strip. If there is any reduction in aid, it will certainly have negative effects on people. So, the Humanitarian Response Plan 2020, announced with the Palestinian government, is a plan that covers interim needs, not permanent needs," he said.

According to the UN, 77 percent of the total value of the 2020 Response Plan, 263 million U.S. dollars, will be allocated to the Gaza Strip compared to 85 million U.S. dollars for the West Bank, which will be dedicated to support vulnerable families in areas classified as "C", East Jerusalem, and the Israeli-controlled area in Hebron.