EU pledges over $72M in additional humanitarian aid for Palestinians

GENEVA

The EU announced on Friday an additional €68 million ($72.8 million) in support of humanitarian aid to Gaza amid the ongoing deterioration of the "severe" humanitarian crisis.

"This support aims to scale up the desperately needed food assistance, nutritional, health, water and sanitation, and shelter support, amongst others," the bloc said in a statement.

With the additional allocation, it added that the total EU humanitarian assistance reached to €193 million for Palestinians in need inside Gaza and across the region in 2024.

It noted that the aid would be channeled through partner organizations already assisting Palestinians in Gaza and across the region.

Israel has waged a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, which Tel Aviv said killed around 1,200 people.

More than 34,300 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and nearly 77,300 injured amid mass destruction and severe shortages of necessities.