UN seeks $1.2 billion in aid to help Gaza, West Bank residents

The UN on Friday launched an emergency aid appeal seeking $1.2 billion to help some 2.7 million people in Gaza and the West Bank. "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. OCHA had originally sought $294 million in aid to support nearly 1.3 million people in an appeal on October 12.