Unicef’s Rosalia Bollen explains the threat of famine and the impact 15 months of war has had on children

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A humanitarian aid truck drives through destroyed buildings in the east of Rafah on January 22nd.
A humanitarian aid truck drives through destroyed buildings in the east of Rafah on January 22nd.

After 15 months of warfare, humanitarian aid is finally getting through to Gaza.

By Wednesday, 2,400 trucks had crossed the border and aid agencies are ramping up delivery of essential supplies following the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel that began on Sunday.

The need is enormous as are the logistical difficulties in delivering food and medical supplies in a region where there are no longer roads and where vast tracts of demolished buildings dot the landscape.

Families, like the Badr family, father, mother and three of their 10 children, who have been living in refugee camps for safety from unrelenting Israeli air attacks, are returning to their homes to find nothing left expect piles of rubble. For some families, the return means searching through the rubble for the bodies of their loved ones.

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Unicef’s Rosalia Bollen is on the ground in Gaza and she explains the challenges in delivering aid in war-torn Gaza, the very real threat of famine and the impact 15 months of war has had on children.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon and John Casey.

Bernice Harrison

Bernice Harrison

Bernice Harrison is an Irish Times journalist and cohost of In the News podcast