UNICEF Ireland Executive Director Peter Power is available for interview
Dublin, 27 May 2025 — UNICEF Ireland has welcomed the delivery of 21 trucks of UNICEFs life-saving nutrition supplies to Gaza — the first such delivery in over 11 weeks — but warns that the scale of humanitarian access remains dangerously insufficient to meet the needs of children and families.
The supplies, delivered by UNICEF following the Israeli announcement allowing limited aid to enter, include Specialized Lipid-Based Nutritional Supplements (SQLNS) and Ready-to-Use Complementary Foods (RUCF). These are critical to preventing malnutrition and supporting the growth of children under five. So far, 16,700 cartons of SQLNS and 95,352 packs of RUCF have been distributed to 14 partners across Gaza, with services now being delivered in 75 facilities in the South and 13 in the North.
Despite this progress, UNICEF stresses that the volume of aid reaching Gaza is a fraction of what is needed.
More needed
UNICEF Ireland Executive Director Peter Power said:
“ UNICEF is committed to staying and delivering humanitarian assistance into Gaza. We have more than 1000 trucks ready to move. I would like to congratulate our teams on the ground who have demonstrated incredible bravery in recent weeks.
“Some of our staff stayed with these 21 trucks for 33 hours to ensure their safe delivery. They have our utmost admiration and respect. These deliveries make one thing very clear. Where there is a will to open the border crossings for aid there is a way to do it.
“Thousands of starving children will benefit from this life-saving humanitarian assistance but much, much, more needs to be done and we call on all parties to the conflict to do everything necessary to support the delivery of aid at huge scale.
“These are not just statistics — they are children with names, families, and futures. Since the ceasefire broke, an average of 70 girls and boys have been killed every single day. The scale of suffering is staggering, and it is children who are paying the highest price. UNICEF has the supplies, the teams, and the readiness to respond — but we are being held back by a lack of access and political will.”
Deadly threat
“We are staying. We are delivering. Even under bombardment, even under blockade,” said Jonathan Crickx, UNICEF Chief of Communication at UNICEF State of Palestine, who recently returned from Gaza.
“A few dozen trucks — even 100 or 110 in a week — is not enough. During the ceasefire, 600 trucks entered Gaza every day. Before the war, it was 500 trucks daily. The current volume is nowhere near sufficient.”
“600,000 children — and potentially up to 1 million — are displaced, many from the north.”
Crickx also described meeting children like Siwa, a five-month-old baby weighing just 2.2 kilograms, whose only need is formula milk — a basic item unavailable due to the blockade. He also spoke of Misk, a 10-year-old girl severely burned in a strike that killed her entire family except her younger sister. “She had no anaesthetics,” he said. “The level of suffering is unimaginable.”
UNICEF has over 1,000 trucks of life-saving supplies ready to move. But access and funding are urgently needed.
UNICEF Ireland is calling on:
- Donors to urgently renew and increase funding, which has dropped significantly despite the growing crisis.
- Governments and parliamentarians to use their influence to push for a renewed ceasefire and sustained humanitarian access.
- The international community to help scale up operations immediately to reach every child in need.
“We are calling on Ireland’s leaders, and the international community, to act with urgency. Every day we wait, more children suffer. This is a preventable catastrophe — but only if we are allowed to respond at the scale required.”
For media inquiries, interviews, or further information, please contact:
Vivienne Parry | UNICEF Ireland | +353 87 717 5344 | vivienne@unicef.ie
About UNICEF
UNICEF, the United Nations agency for children, works to protect the rights of every child, everywhere, especially the most disadvantaged children and in the toughest places to reach. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we do whatever it takes to help children survive, thrive, and fulfil their potential.
For more information about UNICEF and its work, please visit: unicef.ie
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