In Gaza, renewed fighting dims hopes of long pause in humanitarian aid: NPR

TEL AVIV, Israel — For seven consecutive days, people in Gaza could wait in long lines for water, gas and bread without fear of imminent air strikes. Hospitals can treat the injured without worrying that new strikes will result in more patients being injured. Aid groups have shipped tens of thousands of tons of aid across the territory, including in northern Gaza, where fighting is too intense to safely distribute aid.

But a week-long ceasefire ended on Friday after both sides accused the other of violating the terms of the deal. The ceasefire ended to allow the exchange of hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian detainees held by Israel. Aid groups also want a long-term moratorium on aid to address the worsening humanitarian situation for Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, about 80 percent of whom are estimated to have been displaced.

“This is a man-made disaster. It looks like an earthquake, a famine and a massive epidemic,” World Health Organization spokesperson Dr. Margaret Harris told NPR before the fighting resumed said in a radio interview. “The only logical answer is a real ceasefire.”

The week-long pause in fighting allowed thousands of tons of food and water, nearly 150 tons of medical supplies and about 30,000 liters of fuel to be delivered to U.N.-run shelters in northern Gaza, the United Nations said. Ambulances transport seriously injured patients to Egypt.

The break in fighting also allowed several hospitals in northern Gaza to reopen with limited services. Gaza officials have warned that open hospitals will not be able to handle the large number of wounded once fighting resumes. Nearly 20 other hospitals remain closed.

Hospital workers told NPR that even in southern Gaza, where some fuel and medical supplies are being delivered more frequently, medical facilities remain overwhelmed.

“The conditions in this hospital are very bad because we put everything on our shoulders,” said Dr. Mohammad Yasouri, an emergency room physician at Khan Younis Nasser Hospital. “If we had With enough medical equipment, we could save lives or save organs.” But they didn’t.

But the pause will do little to improve water supplies in northern Gaza. Humanitarian groups report that small wells run by the United Nations or private parties have become the main source of drinking water in the north, with water facilities remaining closed due to a lack of fuel and damaged infrastructure.

Supplies of other key commodities, such as cooking gas, remain limited.

Before the suspension, about 20 trucks a day were delivering aid to Gaza through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

But aid groups, including the United Nations, reported that no humanitarian aid was allowed into the area on Friday.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society is a humanitarian organization, Friday said The Israeli army has told aid groups that “aid trucks from Rafah will be banned from entering starting today until further notice”.

“This decision exacerbates the suffering of citizens and increases the challenges faced by humanitarian and relief organizations in mitigating the suffering of citizens and displaced persons caused by the ongoing aggression in the Gaza Strip,” the organization said.

In response, Israeli officials said they would allow trucks to enter Gaza. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Friday that the White House was also optimistic that aid would begin again, although “it could be dozens of trucks, not hundreds,” he added.

As many as 1.8 million Palestinians are believed to have been internally displaced since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people, according to Israeli officials. Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed at least 13,300 people in the weeks since the attack, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, and aid groups have warned that overcrowding and deteriorating sanitation conditions are increasing the risk of infectious diseases.

More than one million people are registered in shelters run by UNRWA, the United Nations agency aiding Palestinian refugees. The shelters were designed to hold 1,500 people, but currently hold an average of about 6,000 people each, U.N. officials said. Officials reported an outbreak of hepatitis A at a UNRWA school-turned-shelter.

UNRWA Director Thomas White said: “For example, we have an average of 125 people using one toilet. So basic facilities such as sanitation facilities in these shelters are very difficult. At night, people are packed into very crowded In the classroom.” Ring, In an interview with the BBC.

This week, the World Health Organization warned that if Gaza’s health infrastructure is not restored, untreated illness could end up killing more people than the explosion. Officials have reported tens of thousands of cases of respiratory infections, diarrhea and rashes and attributed the outbreak to overcrowding, lack of food, water, sanitation and basic hygiene, and waste management challenges.

WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “We need a ceasefire. The ceasefire must last” Said after summarizing Friday’s air strikes.

The Israeli military reported that by sunset, hundreds of strikes hit targets across Gaza, including in the south. Gaza’s health ministry said nearly 180 people were killed and nearly 600 injured.

Shaimaa Ahmed, 20, a computer engineering student who has taken refuge in central Gaza, told NPR on Friday that the renewed fighting felt “suffocating.”

“We really thought if it happened again we couldn’t take it anymore. We’ve seen enough. We’ve been through enough,” Ahmed said. “But obviously it’s not enough for them.”

Becky Sullivan reported in Washington, D.C. and Brian Mann reported in Tel Aviv. Anas Baba contributed reporting from Gaza.