“The world does not see what is happening to these people, families cannot shelter in these conditions,” said Louise Wateridge, from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
Speaking from Nuseirat in central Gaza after heavy winter rains overnight and into Friday morning, UNRWA’s Senior Emergency Officer stressed that “the entire society here is now a graveyard …More than two million people are trapped. They cannot escape. And people continue to be deprived of basic needs and it feels like every path you can take here leads to death.”
Reflecting that warning, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is marked widespread and dangerous levels of malnutrition in the regionWhere more than 96% of women and children in Gaza “are unable to meet their basic nutritional needs,” said Rosalia Bollen, communications specialist at the Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Speaking from Amman, Ms. Bollen noted that female Much of northern Gaza was under near-total siege for 75 days. This largely prevented humanitarian aid from reaching young people in need there “for more than 10 weeks,” she said.
“The suffering is not only physical but also psychological… Children are cold, wet, barefoot; I see many children still wearing summer clothes and no cooking gas left, I also saw a lot of children rummaging through the trash looking for burnable plastic.”
With heavy rainfall expected to fall on Friday evening, UNRWA’s Ms Wateridge stressed the need to get aid into the area to support the people of Gaza, who have repeatedly been forced to flee their homes due to Israeli bombardments and those with little ability to protect themselves from the elements.
Ms. Wateridge emphasized: “Families cannot take shelter in these conditions. “Most people are living in fabric houses, which don’t even have waterproof construction, and 69% of the buildings here have been damaged or destroyed. There is absolutely no place for people to take refuge from the elements.”
Multiple ongoing aid obstacles imposed by Israeli authorities mean humanitarians have had to prioritize food over shelter, leaving Gazans desperate and at risk of a food stampede.
“The certainty of winter is the only thing the United Nations can plan for,” Ms Wateridge asserted. “However, we have not yet been given the conditions to bring enough temporary shelter supplies for the people, because we must prioritize food. Women have been crushed to death while waiting for a piece of bread.”
On Thursday, the United Nations aid coordination office, OCHAreported that Israeli authorities had “rejected another United Nations request to access besieged areas in North Gaza province with food and water. As a result, Palestinians in Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya and parts of Jabalya remain cut off from the essential support they need to survive.”
