The United Nations launched an appeal on Friday to gather $4.07 billion to provide humanitarian aid in Syria, warning that a lack of support could push more Syrians to migrate, according to the French Press Agency.
Adam Abdelmoula, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Syria, said via video from Damascus at a press conference, “For 2024, we request the mobilization of $4.07 billion to provide life-saving assistance to 10.8 million Syrians out of 16.7 million in need.”
He added, “We are facing an unprecedented situation in Syria today that we cannot ignore.”
Abdelmoula highlighted on Friday that approximately 12.9 million people are experiencing food insecurity across Syria.
Until March 1st, “only 0.02 percent of the requirements of the 2024 humanitarian response plan have been funded,” according to Abdelmoula.
He warned that “inaction will be costly for all of us and will inevitably lead to additional suffering,” including “about 2.5 million out-of-school children missing the chance to return to school,” and “about 2.3 million women of childbearing age losing access to maternal and reproductive health services.”
He emphasized that Syria may be “vulnerable to climate shocks,” warning of water scarcity and “heatwaves affecting agriculture and livestock.”
The conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has also resulted in increased prices of goods in Syria due to disruptions in global shipping, as well as a “significant increase” in Israeli airstrikes on targets in the country.
Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes in Syria in recent years primarily targeting Iranian assets and those of Hezbollah, including warehouses, weapon shipments, and also Syrian army positions. However, these strikes intensified after the outbreak of the war in Gaza following an unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7th.
Abdelmoula also confirmed that “targeting airports in Syria” has also affected the delivery of humanitarian aid, noting that the United Nations “had to cancel 49 humanitarian flights during the past year.”
He warned of several potential “disastrous” consequences of ignoring the crisis in Syria, including “the return of terrorism” and increasing instability in neighboring countries such as Lebanon and Jordan by “not creating conducive conditions for the return of refugees.”
Since its outbreak in 2011, the conflict in Syria has claimed over 507,000 lives and displaced millions.
