Pressmediaofindia
Related Articles
01-12-2023
UNITED NATIONS/ GAZA CITY: In the cramped conditions of a makeshift tent near the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis, Nariman cradles her baby daughter. The 23-day-old girl is younger than the war itself and Nariman’s whole family is sick.
“I don’t have enough money to buy my daughter medicine even though she needs medical support to help her breathe”, says the young mother, wrapped up against the cold of the encroaching winter. “My husband is seriously ill and my young son also needed hospital treatment yesterday.”
The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has said that Gaza is in the midst of an “epic humanitarian catastrophe”, and that “the world must not look away”.
Even if the current pause in hostilities is extended by a few days, Israel has made it clear the military offensive will soon resume, targeting what remains of Hamas’ capabilities across Gaza.
That, say aid agencies, will exacerbate what is already a dire humanitarian situation, particularly around Khan Younis where thousands of people have sought refuge from the fighting in the north.
The fragile truce of the past six days has allowed the UN and others to assess what damage seven weeks of bombing has done and what pressing needs the population now has.
“We cannot get enough aid in through the Rafah crossing right now as winter approaches,” says Thomas White, the director of affairs in Gaza for the United Nations Palestinian Refugee Agency.
White, who toured parts of the heavily-bombed Gaza City and the destroyed infrastructure, added: “There’s poor sanitation and we’re very concerned about an outbreak of infectious diseases such as watery diarrhea as people are forced to live in very cramped conditions with poor sanitation.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) says that, given living conditions and the lack of health care, “more people in Gaza could die from disease than bombings”.
Over 100,000 people have acute respiratory infections and 80,000 are suffering with diarrhea, the WHO says. Half of those are said to be under the age of five.
Israel has often denied there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza and points to the 200 or so trucks currently being allowed into the territory each day during this truce, bringing in much-need food, medicines and limited fuel supplies. (Int’l News Desk)
