In Gaza, Palestinians will ‘die from the consequences’ of Israeli siege, UN warns

Another warning as the grip around the besieged enclave loosens little or little. “Many more (people) will soon perish” due to Israel’s all-out blockade of the Gaza Strip, the head of the UN Palestine Refugee Agency (UNRWA) warned on Friday as he called for “significant and sustained” aid.

The health ministry of the Palestinian Hamas movement, which controls the Gaza Strip, announced on Friday that more than 7,300 people, including more than 3,000 children, have been killed since the bombing campaign launched by Israel following an unprecedented attack on Hamas on its territory. October 7th.

Medicines, food and water

“As we speak, people in the Gaza Strip are dying, they are not just dying from bombs and strikes, many more will soon die from the effects of the siege imposed” on the small Palestinian territory since October 9, the UNRWA leader said. Philippe Lazzarini during a press briefing in Jerusalem.

“Basic services are being destroyed, supplies of medicine, food and water are running low, sewers are starting to flood the streets of Gaza,” said the official, for whom aid convoys arriving in Gaza since October 21 have been largely inadequate.

“The current system is doomed to fail. We need significant and lasting assistance, we need a humanitarian ceasefire so that this assistance can reach those who need it,” he demanded. “Bakeries, water treatment plants, ventilators: you need fuel to keep it all running,” he said. “As far as UNRWA is concerned, we have fuel for today,” he added on Friday. The agency, which has “radically limited” consumption, needs 160,000 liters a day to operate.

The reliability of balance sheets is questionable

Israel opposes the fuel being included in humanitarian aid delivered to Gaza and warns against its seizure by Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007. “I will be clear: we have robust monitoring mechanisms. UNRWA does not and will not allow (anyone) to divert aid,” he insisted.

Asked about casualty reports provided by the Hamas Health Ministry, Mr. Lazzarini said that during previous wars in the Gaza Strip, these reports, provided by the same local authorities, “were considered credible and no one ever really challenged them.” . “At least 57 colleagues (at UNRWA) have been confirmed dead,” “mothers, fathers, wonderful people who dedicated their lives to their community,” he said.

The war was triggered by Hamas attacks on Israeli soil that were unprecedented in their brutality and scale. They killed more than 1,400 people in Israel, the vast majority of whom were civilians. In a video conference briefing from Geneva, UN humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories Lynne Hastings said that until October 7, about 46 fuel tankers were entering Gaza per day.

She said there were “very, very detailed negotiations” to try to resolve Israel’s security concerns, “which are completely legitimate, especially with regard to fuel, a dual-use product and a high-risk product.” “We need to deliver the tankers… and do it in a secure manner that gives Israel confidence that the money will not be misappropriated,” Lynn Hastings said. There are still between 300,000 and 400,000 people in need of assistance in the northern Gaza Strip, she said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that 23 of Gaza’s 35 hospitals were still partially operational and that five truckloads of WHO supplies had entered Gaza since October 7, with supplies reaching five hospitals in the south and two in the north. The World Food Program (WFP) said it had delivered nine truckloads of food aid, mostly canned goods and wheat flour. WFP usually works with 23 bakeries to provide bread to 200,000 people in shelters, but said only two remained open.