Israel-Palestine: As the world watches, Gaza’s civilian population is in extreme danger

The main UN agencies issued a joint declaration this Wednesday with ten requirements “to avoid an even worse catastrophe in Gaza.”

The organizations noted, “In less than five months since the brutal attacks of October 7 and the escalation that followed, thousands of Palestinians (mostly women and children) have been killed and injured in the Gaza Strip.”

He said more than three-quarters of the population have been forced to leave their homes, in many cases multiple times, and face severe shortages of food, water, sanitation and health care, basic needs for survival. .

collapsed health system

19 organizations, including the World Health Organization, referred to the enclave’s health system, in which only 12 of the 36 hospitals with hospitalization capacity are functioning, and only partially. There have been more than 370 attacks on health care facilities in Gaza since October 7.

“Diseases spread. Famine hit. There is shortage of water. The infrastructure has been destroyed. Food production has come to a standstill. Hospitals have become battlefields. “One million children suffer trauma every day,” he said.

On the other hand, he highlighted how the city of Rafah, where more than one million displaced people are concentrated, “has become another battlefield of this brutal conflict.”

“A new surge of violence in this densely populated area will lead to massive casualties. He highlighted, “This could also be a fatal blow to the humanitarian response which is already on its knees.”

There is no safe place in Gaza

Even as humanitarian workers facing bombings, deaths, restrictions on movement and a breakdown in civil order continue to try to care for those in need, agencies said there are too many obstacles, including security and transportation restrictions. Humanitarian aid.

To provide medicine, drinking water, food and shelter, organizations urge:

1. immediate ceasefire
2. Protect citizens and the infrastructure on which they depend
3. that the hostages be released immediately
4. Reliable entry points that allow them to deliver aid from all possible crossings, including northern Gaza
5. Guaranteeing security and unhindered passage to deliver large-scale aid throughout Gaza, without any denials, delays or barriers to access.
6. An operational humanitarian reporting system that allows all humanitarian personnel and supplies to pass through Gaza and deliver aid safely
7. Walkable streets and neighborhoods free of explosive devices
8. A stable communications network that allows humanitarian workers to move safely
9. UNRWA*, the backbone of humanitarian operations in Gaza, receives essential resources to provide life-saving assistance
10. End campaigns to defame the UN and NGOs doing everything they can to save lives

“Humanitarian agencies remain committed despite the risks. But you can’t let them pick up the pieces,” he added.

They also called on Israel to fulfill its legal obligation under international humanitarian and human rights law to provide food and medical supplies and facilitate relief operations, and on world leaders to prevent an even worse disaster.

Signer:

• Martin Griffiths, Emergency Relief Coordinator and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
• Sophia Sprachman Seneiro, Secretary General, CARE International
• Qu Dongyu, General Director, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
• Jane Backhurst, President, ICVA (Christian Aid)
• Jamie Munn, CEO, International Council of Voluntary Organizations ,ICVA)
• Tom Hart, CEO and President, InterAction
• Amy E. Pope, General Director, International Organization for Migration (IOM)
• Tajada D’Oyen McKenna, General Director, Mercy Corps
• Volker Turk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights ,
  OHCHR)
• Janti Soeripto, President and CEO, Save the Children
• Aula Gaviria Betancur, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons
• Achim Steiner, Administrator, United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
• Natalia Kanem, Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund ,UNFPA)
• Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
• Michael Malinar, Acting Executive Director, United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat)
• Catherine Russell, Executive Director, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
• Sima Bahaus, Deputy Secretary General and Executive Director, un women
• Cindy McCain, Executive Director, World Food Program (WFP)
• Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO)