Destruction in central Gaza after school strike. Gaza conflict escalates: UN warns of shortage of essential items in enclave Peace and Security
UN humanitarian agencies and their partners continue to provide assistance to victims of Saturday’s strike on al-Mawasi in southwest Gaza, which is estimated to have killed at least 90 people and injured nearly 300.
Meanwhile, it is reported that on Monday, regular Israeli airstrikes hit the southern and central areas of the enclave.
Difficult situation
“With a shortage of medical beds, hygiene supplies, sheets and special clothing, many patients were treated on the floor without disinfectants, ventilation systems were turned off due to a lack of electricity and fuel, and the smell of blood was all around,” said Scott Anderson, Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator and Director of the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza, describing the situation at the Nasser Medical Complex, where victims from Al-Mawasi were taken.
The overcrowded facility received more than 100 critically ill patients in one day, Anderson noted. He spoke of young children who were amputees, paralyzed and separated from their parents. Many families moved to the so-called humanitarian zone of al-Mawasi in the hope that their children would be safe there, a UN official said.
According to a statement by the Israeli army, the target of the strikes was the Hamas military command. Hundreds of thousands of people are taking refuge in the coastal area, including those displaced from Rafah by the Israeli invasion.
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Two thirds of schools in Gaza have been hit since the conflict began
According to media reports On Sunday, another UNRWA school that was being used as a shelter was damaged by military action in the Nuseirat refugee camp on Sunday. Local authorities report at least 17 deaths.
No help
Last Wednesday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Affairs (OCHA) led an inter-agency mission to the Al-Bureij and Al-Maghazi refugee camps in central Gaza.
In Al Bureij, there are just 388 tents for 3,800 people, according to OCHA, and the informal settlement lacks access to health care, water and hygiene. In Al Maghazi, more than 1,000 people, including seven cancer patients, are crammed into a damaged UNRWA school without health care, water or food.
“My colleagues in the humanitarian community are doing everything we can to expand medical capacity in Gaza, but the limitations of humanitarian operations prevent us from supporting people at the scale we need,” Anderson said. He also reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire and the release of all Israeli hostages.
Access Restrictions
Problems such as long delays at checkpoints and security breakdowns continue to prevent adequate aid from reaching Gaza. However, efforts to distribute essential supplies are continuing, Anderson said.
There are only 25 accessible toilets at a school in Deir el-Balah, where 14,000 people are sheltering, UNRWA said. The lack of fuel has left desalination plants, hospitals and utilities unable to operate in the enclave, with only 25 percent of the fuel needed for humanitarian operations reportedly reaching the Strip in July, leading to a 40 percent reduction in water distribution to the population.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that lack of access to food, water, sanitation and basic health services is leaving people more vulnerable to disease.