BRUSSELS

The European Union on Friday said it was giving an extra 68 million euros ($73 million) to provide desperately needed aid to Palestinians in Gaza.

The territory has been devastated by more than six months of Israeli bombardment and ground operations after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, leaving the civilian population of two million people in need of humanitarian assistance to survive.

“In light of the continued deterioration of the severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and the steady rise of needs on the ground, the (European) Commission is stepping up its funding to support Palestinians affected by the ongoing war,” an EU statement said.

“This support brings total EU humanitarian assistance to 193 million euros for Palestinians in need inside Gaza and across the region in 2024.”

The EU said the new aid would be focused on food deliveries, clean water, sanitation and shelters, and would be channelled through local partners on the ground.

The United Nations has said Israel‘s operation has turned Gaza into a “humanitarian hellscape”, amid fears of a looming famine.

The EU and United States have demanded that Israel allows more aid into Gaza.

The U.S. military said on Thursday it had begun construction of a pier meant to boost deliveries to the territory.

The war in Gaza began with an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 that resulted in the deaths of about 1,170 people in Israel, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel vowed to destroy Hamas, with a retaliatory offensive that has killed at least 34,356 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.

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