Gaza (Union)
A bleak year for the Palestinians ended yesterday in the absence of any indications of the possibility of an end soon to the war raging in the Gaza Strip, which is considered the most violent in the Palestinian territories.
The air strikes did not subside, nor did the ground battles stop, while despair prevails among the residents of the Gaza Strip, who suffer from the daily repercussions of the war.
Mahmoud Abu Shahma from a camp for displaced people in Rafah on the border with Egypt said: “We hoped that 2024 would come under better conditions and that we would celebrate New Year in our homes with our families.”
Abu Shahma, who was displaced from Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, also added, “We hope that the war will end and we will be able to return to our homes and live in peace.”
Yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “The war on Gaza will continue until Israel achieves its goals.”
The daily aid convoys entering the Strip are not enough to alleviate the suffering of the population, according to the United Nations, which indicated the displacement of more than 85 percent of Gaza’s population of 2.4 million people.
The World Health Organization warned of the increasing risk of the spread of infectious diseases, and the United Nations announced that Gaza is only weeks away from entering into famine.
The battles put 23 hospitals and 53 medical centers out of service, while 104 ambulances were destroyed, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
In this context, the authorities in the Gaza Strip announced that there are more than 5,300 sick and seriously injured people awaiting urgent evacuation.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) quoted the health authorities in Gaza as saying that the UN office is organizing the transfer of injured people abroad in cooperation with the World Health Organization.
It has now become possible in the northern Gaza Strip to restore limited services in some health facilities, including the Arab National Hospital and Al Awda Hospital, in addition to some medical practices, according to what the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported from the local authorities.
The authorities there are also working with the World Health Organization and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) to reopen more facilities. OCHA said that this happens in some cases at the expense of the lives of employees, as many areas are still subject to continuous bombing by Israel.
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