The lack of food, fuel and medicine threatens a humanitarian catastrophe in Khan Yunis

Gaza (Union)

Warnings of a humanitarian catastrophe have escalated in the city of Khan Yunis due to the shortage of food, fuel, medical materials, and medicines in hospitals, and the lack of basic needs for some groups of patients. This came as the hunger crisis and humanitarian tragedy worsen in the rest of the Gaza Strip in light of the continuing attacks and siege.
Yesterday, the Palestine Red Crescent Society warned of a humanitarian catastrophe in the “Amal Hospital” in the city of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip.
The association said in a press statement, “The food stock for the displaced has run out, and the amount of fuel available is sufficient for only one week to operate the hospital, which threatens a humanitarian catastrophe.”
She added, “Some medical consumables and medicines have reached zero balance, and a large group has decreased, such as medicines for chronic diseases, and this coincides with the absence of the main needs of some special groups, such as milk and diapers for children, the elderly, and people with disabilities.”
She stressed that “all coordination attempts to secure the transfer of patients and wounded from the hospital to receive treatment outside the hospital have failed, in addition to the failure of securing oxygen for the intensive care and operations rooms and securing the fuel necessary to operate the hospital.”
The association noted that “the hospital is still subjected to heavy gunfire and the positioning of vehicles in all directions around it, preventing the movement of ambulances, medical crews, and the movement of displaced people from entering and leaving it.”
In a related context, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) warned that the residents of the Gaza Strip are “dying before the eyes of the world in a unique disaster of its kind.”
UNRWA, in a tweet on its account on the “X” platform, pointed to the hunger crisis and human tragedy that are worsening day after day in the Gaza Strip, in light of the ongoing attacks and siege. She said: “An unprecedented catastrophe is happening before our eyes in Gaza,” stressing that “people are dying before the eyes of the world.”
As of January 30, 18 countries and the European Union had decided to suspend their funding to UNRWA, based on allegations that 12 of the agency’s employees participated in the October 7 attack.
UNRWA also warned that access to clean water and sanitation is limited in the Gaza Strip. The UN agency added, “Water is life, while Gaza lives without water.” She explained that “the humanitarian crisis, which has been exacerbated by limited aid deliveries and the destruction of infrastructure, exposes thousands of vulnerable people to the risk of disease.”
UNRWA was established by a decision of the United Nations General Assembly in 1949, and was authorized to provide assistance and protection to refugees in its five areas of operations, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, until a just solution to their problem is reached.
In addition, data from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees revealed that about 570,000 people in Gaza are suffering from catastrophic hunger, and it is difficult for humanitarian agencies to provide effective aid, calling for a significant increase in aid as the risk of famine increases.
Palestinian experts and politicians said that there are thousands of families unable to provide their daily food, and many have lost their lives, especially children, women, and those with chronic diseases, due to the lack of food and basic needs.
Palestinian political analyst Mustafa Al-Dahdouh told Al-Ittihad that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is beyond catastrophic, and there is a widespread scarcity of necessary food supplies. Thousands are suffering from a lack of food supplies, which are an essential element of life. As the war enters its fourth month, the scene is getting worse, with The aid wheel is slow in motion and a maximum of 150 trucks are entering the Gaza Strip daily, while before the war no less than 500 trucks were entering the Gaza Strip.
In turn, the Red Cross spokesman in the Gaza Strip told Al-Ittihad that there are risks of famine looming in the north of the Strip. Because the amount of aid arriving is insignificant compared to the needs, calling for allowing humanitarian support to be increased continuously and safely.