The average Palestinian in the Gaza Strip exists only because of the two pieces of bread a day that the UN has stockpiled in that region; and “Water, water” is heard everywhere in the streets, the director of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip said on Friday.
According to Thomas White’s words, there is no safe place now, and people fear for their lives, their future and the ability to feed their families. In addition to the humanitarian catastrophe on the streets of Gaza, he noted about Wastewater:
But when you talk to municipal officials, you realise that as soon as they run out of fuel, the sewage will rush into the streets.
Gas for cooking is becoming increasingly scarce as there is no way to import.
White says that some 600,000 people have taken refuge in 149 UNRWA facilities, most of them schools; but Israeli operations have subjected the shelters to massive bombardment, so they are not secure.
At last count, 38 people were killed in our shelters. I fear that with the fighting now going on in the north of the country, that number will rise significantly.
Lynne Hastings, the UN Deputy Middle East Coordinator, made the depressing announcement that of the three water lines coming from Israel, only one is working. “Many people rely on brackish or salty ground water, if at all,” she said.
There are also intense negotiations between Israeli, Egyptian, the U.S. and UN to authorise fuel supplies to Gaza, according to UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths. He also stated the following:
We must ensure a reliable, repeatable and dependable supply to Gaza.
Israel’s operations is worrisome as the number of casualties grows every single day. For example, 72 UNRWA staff members have been killed since 7 October, according to Griffiths: “I think this is the highest number of UN staff killed in the conflict.”
The total death toll in Gaza stands at more than 9,000, four times higher than during the 50-day conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza in 2014, when just over 2,200 Palestinians died, Griffiths noted, citing the Health Ministry. However, it must be realised that the actual number of casualties will only be known once the conflict has ended, excavations have been carried out, and collapsed buildings have been cleaned up.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has repeatedly called for a complete ceasefire, just as Griffiths has called for humanitarian pauses to bring aid to millions of people.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, criticised Griffiths for talking about humanitarian pauses.
Israel continues killing the Palestinians, but gives us a few hours every now and then, in order to get food and other stuff.
