Jalandhar(24/10/2023): On day 17 of the Gaza-Israel crisis, UN humanitarians on Tuesday pleaded for desperately needed fuel deliveries and other relief items to prevent the already dire situation in the enclave from worsening further.
The bombardment of Gaza has taken a devastating toll on its children said the UN Children’s Fund UNICEF on Tuesday said The 18-day period is the deadliest escalation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel that the UN has witnessed since 2006, the agency said.
UNICEF urgently appeals on all parties to agree to a ceasefire, allow humanitarian access and release all hostages. Even wars have rules. Civilians must be protected – children particularly – and all efforts must be made to spare them in all circumstances.
The UNHRC mandated Independent commission for inquiry on the Palestinian Territory called on Israel, the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Hamas which controls Gaza, to support its ongoing investigations into “serious crimes”
The Commission was established via a Council resolution in May 2021, to investigate alleged violations of international law, Presenting its latest report to the General Assembly on Tuesday, the Commission said it “unequivocally condemns the killing of over 1,000 Israeli citizens by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups, injuring thousands more and the taking of more than 200 hostages, including children.”
Investigators also unequivocally condemned “Israeli military attacks that resulted in the deaths of thousands of Palestinian civilians, as well as hundreds of children.”
The Commission called for the immediate cessation of hostilities, and the immediate and safe return of all hostages.
Chair Navi Pillay said in her statement there were “clear indications that international crimes have been and are being committed.”
In accordance with its brief “and in furtherance of justice and accountability, the Commission immediately began collecting and preserving evidence.”
She said they would “not only focus on crimes and violations but also identify individual criminal responsibility”.
Doctors have been performing surgeries without anaesthesia or other basic surgical supplies, the UN World Health Organization said in an update, noting that fuel has become the “most vital commodity” in Gaza. Without it, “trucks can’t move and generators can’t produce electricity for hospitals, bakeries and water desalination plants,” said Tamara Alrifai, spokesperson for the UN agency for Palestine refugees. To date, fuel has been absent from the aid convoys allowed in so far.
“We are on our knees asking for sustained, scaled up, protected humanitarian operations”, UN health agency (WHO) Emergencies Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Region Dr. Rick Brennan said. Briefing reporters from Cairo, he appealed “to all those in a situation to make a decision or influence decision makers, to give us the humanitarian space to address this human catastrophe”.
WHO’s Dr. Brennan highlighted the dire consequences of a lack of access to clean water, compounded by overcrowding. Between one and three litres per person per day were available in Gaza while the absolute minimum was 15 litres, he said. People were being pushed to consume contaminated water and the spread of infectious diseases was “just a matter of time”.
Dr Brennan also said that WHO was working with UNRWA to establish a system of disease surveillance with daily reports. The most common infectious diseases were respiratory tract infections and diarrhoea, but chicken pox and skin infections like scabies and head lice were also to be expected.
One in three hospitals and two in three clinics were not functioning, and health facilities and workers were overwhelmed with a massive load of trauma cases, many of them complex injuries due to explosions. Dr Brennan cited the example of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, which had 1.5 patients for each bed.
With 1.4 million displaced people across the territory, overcrowding was a major challenge to the health system. “I’ve been working in humanitarian assistance for 30 years and can’t remember that number of people displaced over such a short period of time,” Dr Brennan said.
Dr. Brennan highlighted Across the border in Egypt, WHO said that it has additional medicines and medical equipment on standby that are enough to provide surgical interventions for trauma patients, essential health services for 110,000 people and care for 20,000 chronic diseases patients.
UNRWA’s Ms. Alrifai recalled that the agency was mourning the loss of 35 staff so far, most of whom were themselves displaced and were working inside the agency’s shelters and facilities to assist the 400,000 or so people who have sought safety there. A total of 40 UNRWA installations have been damaged since 7 October.
Asked about accountability for the deaths and destruction, Ms. Alrifai reiterated the importance of respecting the principles of international humanitarian law in wartime.
“Whatever happened to our colleagues and our buildings is unacceptable – no matter who did it,” she said.