Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 20, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 27, 2026
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Aid to Gaza may be slow, warns International Rescue Chief, with 600 trucks needed daily during the ceasefire. Focus is on water, sanitation, and healthcare.
By Jennifer Rigby
LONDON (Reuters) - The flow of aid into Gaza could take time to ramp up, chief of the International Rescue Committee David Miliband said on Monday, as relief trucks conducted a second day of deliveries following the start of the ceasefire.
The deal requires 600 truckloads of aid to be allowed into Gaza every day of the initial six-week ceasefire, including 50 carrying fuel.
"That’s a big step up," said Miliband, speaking to Reuters in London. "I fear… it will take time. We want to ramp up as quickly as possible."
He said the IRC in Gaza is focused particularly on water and sanitation, child protection and other healthcare.
"What counts is the medicine that gets through, the water… the fuel… the aid workers... and whether they get through safely," he said, referring to issues with looting and security threats to deliveries that have been a problem during the 15-month war, when aid to Gaza has been extremely limited.
In line with other humanitarian leaders, Miliband said that funding was also needed for a sustained response in Gaza, for what he described as "the biggest (aid) surge you can imagine, because it’s a massive emergency".
Earlier, U.N aid chief Tom Fletcher said 630 trucks had entered Gaza on day one of the ceasefire.
Speaking ahead of President Donald Trump’s inauguration in Washington, Miliband cautioned that governments globally were stepping back from tackling international problems despite a rise in humanitarian need.
"I think governments are in retreat from big global problems, and that means that NGOs and the corporate sector and the philanthropic sector needs to step up and show what the answers are," he said.
Trump has not outlined his plans for humanitarian aid in his second administration, but he sought to slash U.S. funding in his first term. The U.S. is the largest individual donor for the IRC, Miliband said.
"We’ve got to make the argument it’s a good investment," he said.
"There are more resources to do more good than any time in human history. So shame on us for not doing more good," he added.
(Reporting by Jennifer Rigby, editing by Ed Osmond)
David Miliband warned that the flow of aid into Gaza could take time to ramp up, emphasizing the need for a quick increase in aid delivery.
The deal requires 600 truckloads of aid to be allowed into Gaza every day during the initial six-week ceasefire, including 50 trucks carrying fuel.
The IRC is particularly focused on water and sanitation, child protection, and other healthcare needs in Gaza.
Miliband expressed concern that governments are retreating from addressing major global problems, indicating a need for NGOs and the corporate sector to step up.
The U.S. is the largest individual donor for the IRC, and Miliband stressed the importance of making the case that humanitarian aid is a good investment.
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