Ongoing hostilities in the Gaza Strip are placing Palestinians at grave risk, particularly civilians struggling under the Israeli siege in the north, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
On Friday, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini reported that over the past seven weeks, the military operations have displaced approximately 130,000 people from their homes in northern Gaza.
In the besieged northern regions, including Gaza City, severe shortages of cooking gas have forced families to burn waste materials for fuel. This dangerous practice heightens the risk of respiratory infections, especially as healthcare services are minimal, warned the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The World Food Programme (WFP) highlighted a worsening hunger crisis, noting that prices of basic food items have skyrocketed by over 1,000 percent compared to pre-hostility levels. Despite challenges, the WFP managed to deliver wheat flour to some bakeries in Gaza this week. Although seven bakeries in central Gaza have been operational recently, they face intermittent closures due to lack of flour and fuel.
With bread being a lifeline for many families, the WFP emphasized the critical need for bakeries to remain open. Sustaining the flow of essential supplies such as wheat and fuel is vital to prevent further humanitarian deterioration.
UN humanitarian partners report a severe shortage of adequate shelter for hundreds of thousands of displaced individuals across Gaza. Less than a quarter of shelter needs have been met, leaving nearly one million people vulnerable to harsh conditions as winter approaches.
“Some 545,000 people are living in damaged buildings and makeshift shelters, underscoring the urgency of ensuring that thousands of tarpaulins and sealing-off kits to repair living spaces can enter the Strip without delay,” stated OCHA.
In the southern areas, recent rains have flooded shelters along the shoreline in Al-Qarara, displacing hundreds of families to Hamad City in Khan Younis over the past six days.
The West Bank is also experiencing a deteriorating situation for Palestinians. From November 19 to November 25, Israeli forces killed nine Palestinians, including one child. Seven of these deaths occurred during a 48-hour Israeli operation in Jenin, OCHA reported.
(With input from Xinhua)
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Hostilities continue to put Palestinians at risk in Gaza, UNRWA says
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