GAZA: At least 30 Palestinians were killed overnight in Israeli strikes in the central area of Gaza, a senior UN humanitarian official said.
The situation in the besieged enclave has worsened, with a growing number of casualties and a critical lack of humanitarian aid for the desperate Palestinian people, a senior UN official reported.
“We saw absolutely horrific images from the scene. There are parents looking for their children, children covered in dust and blood looking for their parents, multiple injured in addition to the reported casualties, and people still buried under the rubble,” Louise Wateridge, Senior Emergency Manager to the United Nations agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA. , speaking to journalists from central Gaza to Geneva and New York.
The strikes came only a day after the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution demanding an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
Ms. Wateridge described the situation as “absolutely sickening, noting that such daily pain and suffering has become the norm for Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip.
Hospitals are overwhelmed and doctors are struggling to treat life-threatening injuries, prevent infections and treat treatable illnesses. The situation is made worse by serious shortages of essential goods, including insulin, syringes and cancer drugs.
“Gaza now has the highest number of child amputees per capita in the world. Children are among the hardest hit, with Gaza now reporting the highest number of child amputees per capita in the world,” Ms Wateridge said.
“Many lose their limbs. And in scenarios like this, they undergo surgeries without anesthesia. I spoke to the doctors at Nasser Hospital. It is currently the largest semi-functional hospital in the Gaza Strip. And they are completely beside themselves.
Nearly 26,000 people have suffered life-changing injuries in the past 14 months, according to UNRWA – all requiring rehabilitation services, including for amputations and spinal cord injuries, according to the World Organization of Health (WHO).
Already in May 2024, more than one in five households in Gaza reported having at least one disabled member in their family, with 58,000 disabled people identified in the official database of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.
Despite continued attacks on its premises and staff, “UNRWA remains one of the main health actors operating in the Gaza Strip here,” Ms. Wateridge said.
“UNRWA is providing 6.7 million medical consultations during this war,” she said, noting that laboratory services are now limited to three tests, out of 35 before the conflict began in October 2023.
Food insecurity also remains a pressing concern in Gaza. Experts from the Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) Famine Review Committee, in partnership with the UN, have already issued a warning of an imminent famine in the northern Gaza Strip.
“It’s been 14 months. People here really survive on bread, lentils and canned food. We are not seeing fruits and vegetables… In the last four months alone, almost 19,000 children have been hospitalized due to acute malnutrition,” Ms Wateridge said.
Attacks on a humanitarian convoy claimed the lives of several guards on Thursday, leaving only one of 70 trucks capable of delivering food, hygiene products and tents to the people of Gaza, following a successful delivery of UN inter-agency assistance the day before.
“We went from a very successful convoy, where 105 trucks of food and flour reached the population, and UNRWA distributed all those supplies, to a completely opposite situation,” Ms. Wateridge said, citing the looting criminals and other security risks that prevented transportation. convoy to reach its intended destination.
Meanwhile, UNRWA continues to be the backbone of health and humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip, even as its personnel risk their lives daily, it is emphasized.
“We had colleagues killed. My colleagues saw family members killed,” Ms. Wateridge said. “The suffering continues. The sadness continues. It is very difficult to continue operating in these circumstances for everyone, for all humanitarians. »
Furthermore, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory said he was very concerned about the “rapid” deterioration of the security and humanitarian situation in Gaza, noting that recent multiple strikes have left many dead and many injured. .
Muhannad Hadi also expressed concern about the insecurity that has hampered UN humanitarian convoys, two of which were looted on Wednesday.
He said the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution in attacks must be respected at all times, while calling on all parties to ensure the protection of civilians and the safe and unimpeded passage of humanitarian assistance.
The UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, reported that since the intensification of the Israeli military operation in the northern Gaza governorate two months ago, all attempts by the UN to reach the besieged areas were either denied or obstructed by the Israeli authorities.
Since October 6, the UN and its partners have attempted to coordinate 137 missions in these northern regions and 124 have been flatly refused. The other 13 were approved but then encountered obstacles along the way.
The UN has submitted 16 requests since last Monday and almost all have been flatly refused. The one mission given the green light was unable to move to all the areas it wanted to reach.
“OCHA once again emphasizes that humanitarian movements must be facilitated across Gaza, including to northern areas, where thousands of Palestinians face apocalyptic conditions after nearly 10 weeks of siege,” the statement said. agency.
