Gaza (Union)
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) announced yesterday that more than 330,000 tons of waste have accumulated in populated areas throughout the Gaza Strip, warning of catastrophic environmental and health risks.
UNRWA said on the “X” platform that there are more than 330,000 tons of waste accumulated in populated areas throughout the Gaza Strip, which poses catastrophic environmental and health risks.
She explained that “children search through garbage every day.”
The organization stressed that “unhindered access to humanitarian aid and a ceasefire are crucial to restoring humanitarian living conditions” in the Strip.
Since last October 7, Israel has been waging a war on Gaza that has left about 122,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing.
In another context, images taken by satellites and analyzed by the United Nations showed that more than half of the area of agricultural land in Gaza, which is considered necessary to feed the Strip’s hungry residents, was destroyed due to the conflict.
The data revealed an increase in the destruction of farms, field crops, and vegetables in Gaza, where hunger is widespread, 8 months after the start of the Israeli military campaign.
The World Health Organization has warned that many residents of the Strip are exposed to a catastrophic level of hunger and famine-like conditions.
Using satellite images taken between May 2017 and 2024, the United Nations Satellite Center (UNOSAT) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) found that 57 percent of Gaza’s permanent crop fields, arable land essential for food security, had significantly decreased in area and quality. .
The center said yesterday: “The quality and density of crops throughout the Gaza Strip deteriorated significantly in May 2024 compared to the average of the previous seven seasons.”
He continued: “This deterioration is due to conflict-related activities, which include demolition work, heavy vehicle traffic, and bombing.”
He added that this decrease represents a 30 percent increase in affected agricultural lands since he published his previous analysis in April.
In turn, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said yesterday that there are more than 8,000 children under the age of five in Gaza who have received treatment for acute malnutrition.
The UNOSAT Center stated that, in addition to the damage to crop fields and orchards, agricultural greenhouses throughout the Gaza Strip were subjected to significant damage.
According to UNOSAT data, the Gaza Strip owns an estimated 151 square kilometers of agricultural land, which constitutes about 41 percent of the Strip’s land.
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