What is the humanitarian situation in the besieged Gaza Strip?
A four-day truce between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip began today (Friday), and relief agencies hope to use the cessation of fighting to step up aid delivery to the besieged Strip, according to the Reuters news agency.
Shortages of food, fuel, drinking water and medicine have worsened in recent weeks and United Nations agencies have warned of epidemics, which could dramatically increase the number of deaths.
No foreign aid has reached parts of the northern Gaza Strip for weeks and a UN spokesperson described the situation as “hell on earth”.
Here is the picture of the humanitarian situation in the Strip:
Exodus
Of the 2.3 million residents of the Gaza Strip, approximately 1.7 million have fled their homes and been displaced within the Strip. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says nearly a million of them are taking refuge in buildings managed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), and the number of these shelters is at least 156.
Shelters are extremely crowded, more than four times their capacity, after tens of thousands of civilians fled to the southern Gaza Strip to escape the brunt of recent Israeli shelling, but the south has also been subjected to fierce Israeli airstrikes who killed and injured civilians.
Most of the displaced men, young men and boys sleep in the open near the outer walls of the shelters. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said some families had set up tents outside a shelter in Khan Yunis.
Hospitals
No hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip are functioning normally, due to the intensity of the shelling and the lack of fuel. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says 8 out of 11 facilities in the south are still operational and only one of those is available to perform complex surgeries, according to the World Health Organization.
The organization also said that it has requested assistance in the evacuation of 3 hospitals in the north and that plans are underway in this regard.
The charity Oxfam says the number of premature births has increased by around a third over the past month in the Strip, besieged by Israel, with pregnant women suffering severe stress and psychological trauma.
Delivery of aid
The Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt has been opened, allowing the entry of limited aid since October 21, while the rest of the crossings with the Gaza Strip remain closed.
A total of 80 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid arrived from Egypt yesterday (Thursday).
Egypt said that with the start of the truce, 130,000 liters of fuel and four trucks of gas, as well as 200 trucks of aid, will enter the Gaza Strip daily.
Waterfall
Fuel deliveries in recent days have allowed the restarting of some water wells and pumping stations in the southern Gaza Strip. But the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says there are strong fears of drought in the northern Gaza Strip, where neither the desalination plant nor the water line from Israel are operational.
He added that wastewater treatment plants are not operating at full capacity due to damage and fuel shortages, and that wastewater has spilled onto streets near Rafah in recent days.
Fuel
Israel allows limited daily quantities of fuel to enter the Gaza Strip from Egypt. Yesterday, Thursday, 75 thousand liters were delivered.
UNRWA distributes fuel to support food distribution and operate hospital generators, water and sanitation systems, shelters and other necessary services.