The UN has launched an emergency aid appeal seeking $1.2 billion to help some 2.7 million people in Gaza and the West Bank, AFP reports.

“The cost of meeting the needs of 2.7 million people — that is the entire population of Gaza and 500,000 people in the occupied West Bank — is estimated to be $1.2 billion,” the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

“The original appeal, launched 12 October, asked for $294m to support nearly 1.3m people. The situation has grown increasingly desperate since then,” it added.

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