UNRWA: Situation in Gaza is catastrophic

OCCUPIED AL-QUDS, Aug.27, (ST)-Two officials from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) have reiterated that the situation in the Gaza Strip is “catastrophic” and that the space in which people are confined in the Strip is “very small” amid more evacuation orders for areas across Gaza over the past two weeks.

This came in a statement given to journalists at the United Nations headquarters in New York by Louise Waterridge, UNRWA spokesperson in Gaza, and Wissam Rose, UNRWA’s first deputy field director, who were speaking via video from Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.

Hundreds of thousands of people are being forced to move every day from one place to another, seeking safe shelter, Waterridge said.

“What we are seeing now is families, mothers and children dragging their belongings.. most people are being forcibly moved, there is very limited access to any kind of vehicle for this kind of displacement now, and people simply don’t know where to go,” she added.

She pointed out that in the humanitarian zone declared by the Israeli entity in Khan Younis and Al-Mawasi, “you can barely see the sand on the ground, the area is crowded, adding that there are tanks in areas that were previously known as safe areas, and this is just further evidence that the Gaza Strip is not a safe place, people have nowhere to go, there is no way to find safety, and access to humanitarian resources is very limited, because humanitarian operations are also being displaced under these evacuation orders.

For his part, the first deputy field director of UNRWA said that the recent series of evacuation orders reduced the humanitarian area declared by the Israeli entity to only 11 percent of the entire Gaza Strip.

“There’s actually sand dunes.. congested areas, where people are crowded together and doing whatever they can to survive,” he added, explaining that people there “face impossible choices,” not knowing what to do or whether to stay or leave.

He warned of the “perfect storm” that creates the environment in which polio can spread, referring to “malnourished children, a devastated health sector, very poor water and sanitation services and conditions, people living in garbage and pools of sewage, feeling stressed and anxious and their immune systems are weakened.”

The UN official confirmed that they are now directing their efforts to make the polio vaccination campaign, which will start next Saturday and targets some 640,000 children, succeed, with 40 percent of these children receiving the vaccines from UNRWA, which is a major player in the campaign.

Source: WAFA

B.Q.

 

You might also like
Latest news
Israeli aggression targets civilian sites south of Damascus Russian Trade Representation in Syria holds a sports marathon to celebrate National Unity Day in Rus... Settlers burn Palestinian lands and homes east of Ramallah Lebanese resistance targets Meron base, settlements and gatherings of the Israeli enemy 43,374 martyrs since the beginning of the Israeli war of extermination on the Gaza Strip Three martyrs in Israeli air raids on southern Lebanon Syrian film (Salma) at Cairo International Film Festival Recreational activities and psychological support in Homs for children arriving from Lebanon Pezeshkian: Iran is facing an economic war to weaken it Palestinian Foreign Ministry: The occupation crimes in the West Bank are part of the war of extermin... The Syria Trust for Development in cooperation with the Finnish Relief Organization: In the Aleppo c... A Palestinian man was shot by the occupation forces near Bethlehem Syrian Postal Corporation issues a commemorative stamp on the occasion of “National Environment Day” The beginning of the winter vegetable season  in Sweida with a plan of 2890 dunums Palestinian Presidency: The world must take concrete steps on the ground against Israel With the participation of 20 Artisans, the Autumn 2024 Exhibition kicks off at Baniyas Culture Cente... Minister of Endowments discusses with Vice President of the Russian Pyatigorsk State University the ... Martyrs and wounded as a result of the occupation's bombing of Al-Nuseirat camp Lebanese National  resistance targets 4 settlements and an Israeli air base Occupation Forces Detain 10 Palestinians in the West Bank