Administrator Samantha Power at a Donor Governments Roundtable on the Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza

ADMINISTRATOR SAMANTHA POWER: Thank you so much for joining, really grateful, and just to say at the outset that I know we all know that the events of the last ten days have been searing. Thousands of people losing their lives, whether dancing at a musical festival, or fleeing their homes in search of safety. 

The vast majority of the casualties, as you all know, have been civilians – men, women, children, even babies, some of whom have experienced violence and trauma and loss before they can even physically form words. For many of us, the human suffering hits close to home as some of our own citizens have been killed, injured, or taken hostage by Hamas. Many others remain trapped in Gaza. 

Top of mind is how to address the worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. And today, I want to briefly update you on what the U.S. has been doing over the last two weeks to address what are grave and growing needs.

I know that everyone here and so many beyond are awaiting word as to whether aid convoys can enter Gaza through the Rafah border crossing, separating the territory from Egypt. Uzra Zeya, our Under Secretary over at the State Department, is going to update you on the round-the-clock diplomatic negotiations driven by the highest levels of our government. And any further questions you have when we open the floor, absolutely happy to go into greater detail on that, as both the Under Secretary and myself have been very involved in that. Special Envoy Satterfield David Satterfield has been in the region leading extensive negotiations on that score. And we are hoping that the first convoy of 20 trucks carrying desperately needed supplies will cross into Gaza soon.

Even as we focus on this initial delivery, and there has been, as we know, a lot of focus on these 20 trucks, we recognize that these supplies are a small fraction of what is required to address the full extent of humanitarian needs. As part of the negotiations with our Israeli and Egyptian partners and UN leadership, we are working hard to facilitate the continuous flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza.

With the initial $100 million in humanitarian assistance that President Biden announced this week, the United States will help to provide emergency food, health care assistance, protection services for women and children, and psychosocial support. And today, President Biden will send a request to Congress for additional aid to both Israel and Ukraine, which will include significant additional humanitarian assistance for Gaza.

We are also, I should note that, of course, as Israel defends itself, President Biden has made clear that how they do it matters, which means acting in a way that respects the rule of law. And international humanitarian standards, and taking every possible precaution to protect civilian life. This has been a subject of extensive dialogue between the United States and our Israeli partners. 

We are coming together today because the scale of the crisis is more than any one of our countries can meet on its own. Our response is going to be stronger if we draw on each other's strengths, our resources, and capabilities, and I'm looking forward to our discussion today.

Let me just, before handing it back to Dennis [Vega] and on to Under Secretary Zeya, I want to just say thank you. The very fact that you are here today is a clear demonstration of the urgency with which you too view this imperative of addressing humanitarian needs and pressing for the protection of civilians.

Thank you for being here at a difficult time. I know all of you are scrambling to mobilize resources and to try to make a difference on the ground in what is a very, very difficult situation.