All sectors in Gaza need full support: UN official

All sectors in the Gaza Strip require full support following the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel that took effect on Sunday, a UN official said on Tuesday, reported Xinhua.

"The role of the private sector in Gaza must be strengthened, and shelters in the Strip must be supported," Muhannad Hadi, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, told a press conference in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

Hadi also stressed the need to bolster the work of UN agencies in partnership with local community organizations, noting that sectors such as health, education, nutrition, and psychological support are in dire need of assistance.

He called for "providing the necessary assistance to the people of Gaza in the reconstruction process to return families to their homes."

The ceasefire put a pause to 15 months of fighting that caused immense human loss and destruction in the besieged enclave.

The Palestinian death toll from Israeli forces since Oct. 7, 2023, has risen to around 47,000, with the tally still climbing as civil defense teams continue to recover bodies from under rubble following the Israeli withdrawal.

According to the UN, as of December 2024, approximately 69 percent of the Gaza Strip, or 170,812 buildings, had been damaged or destroyed.