The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that “people in Gaza continue to risk their lives to obtain sufficient food and other necessities allowed into the Strip, amid ongoing (Israeli) hostilities and worsening hunger.”
In its latest update, Wednesday, the office said it had received reports this morning of “dozens killed or injured at an Israeli military aid distribution center.”
He added, “Over the past week, serious injuries among aid seekers have continued to be reported. The World Health Organization reported that a 21-year-old man was paralyzed for life after being shot while trying to retrieve a bag of flour from a military post.”
OCHA warned that “months of escalating (Israeli) hostilities have increased the risks for the most vulnerable groups, including people with disabilities and the elderly, who are struggling to obtain what they need to survive and are increasingly isolated.”
OCHA said that “more than 80% of people with disabilities in Gaza have lost their wheelchairs, hearing aids, walkers, and other assistive devices, according to a survey conducted by a humanitarian partner. With their mobility restricted, vulnerable people face numerous challenges, including denial of humanitarian assistance, discrimination, stigma, and exposure to explosive ordnance.”
For its part, the United Nations Population Fund said, “Many safe spaces that provide shelter, psychological support, and coping mechanisms for women and girls have closed or are operating at reduced capacity.”
The Fund reported that the situation in Gaza is tragic for women and girls. Pregnant women give birth in the dark, without electricity or specialized care to treat potential complications, and thousands of mothers are starving.
For its part, Doctors Without Borders reported that it had provided treatment to more than 1,200 pregnant and breastfeeding women and children suffering from severe and moderate malnutrition at its clinics in Al Mawasi and Gaza City.
The organization explained that between May and July, the number of people registered for treatment at its clinic in Gaza City quadrupled, including hundreds of children under the age of two.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that although small quantities of fuel entered Gaza on Tuesday via the Kerem Shalom crossing, the severe fuel shortage still threatens to disrupt vital operations, such as hospitals, services, medical equipment, communications, and water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities.
The office stressed the urgent need for hundreds of thousands of liters of fuel daily to alleviate the crisis and address the deteriorating situation.
He reported that UN partners had rehabilitated a well yesterday in an effort to address the severe water shortage, noting that while this will support patients and medical staff with hundreds of cubic meters per day, it is not enough to meet people’s needs.
OCHA also said that “after four months of comprehensive Israeli restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, almost all displacement sites reported that people were sleeping in the open without any protection.”
He recalled that no shelter supplies had entered the area during this period, and reiterated the need to end this disastrous situation, as a ceasefire was long overdue.
For his part, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at the daily press conference: “We need massive amounts of humanitarian aid to enter Gaza now.”
