Shaaban Bilal (Gaza, Cairo)
The spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross in the Gaza Strip, Hisham Muhanna, described the humanitarian conditions in the Strip as “tragic” and witnessing a difficult transformation, especially in the south. He expressed his fear of the expansion of military operations in the city of Khan Yunis, from which thousands of families were forced to move towards the city. Rafah.
Muhanna said in an interview with Al-Ittihad that a small number of hospitals are still struggling to remain in operation in the city of Khan Yunis, such as the Nasser Medical Complex, the Al-Amal Hospital affiliated with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, and the Gaza European Hospital, and some of them have become within the danger zone, and could be destroyed. It will be removed from service if hostilities continue in its vicinity.
He stressed that there is difficulty in ambulances reaching the injured and transporting them to hospitals, and many people who were displaced in Khan Yunis in tents, hospitals and shelters were forced to go out on very dangerous security roads in search of another safe haven in the city of Rafah.
Regarding the displacement crisis towards the south of the Gaza Strip, the official at the International Committee of the Red Cross explained that the city of Rafah was inhabited by 300,000 people before the war, and now more than a million and a half displaced people are crowded in random tents and miserable conditions.
Muhanna warned of the repercussions of the continuation of the war on the further deterioration of the humanitarian situation, considering that “failing to stop hostilities will result in the unjustified loss of more lives, and many will lose their families and loved ones, in addition to the fact that many children are born every day in light of this war and nightmare.”
A Red Cross spokesman stated, “There is a widespread spread of diseases and epidemics in Gaza, with a decline in the capacity of hospitals to face these serious challenges, in addition to the dangers of a looming famine in the northern Gaza Strip, to the point that some people were forced to replace flour with animal feed and grind it in order to provide bread for their families due to the lack of access to food.” Humanitarian aid as a result of the continuous bombing, and that what reaches the north is insignificant compared to the extent of the needs.”
Muhanna considered that it is impossible to achieve any effective humanitarian response on the ground that could bring about a positive change, even a simple one, in southern Gaza, and it is extremely difficult to provide humanitarian needs, despite the efforts made, because the needs are much greater than the absorptive capacity of the working teams.
He stressed the need to stop hostilities, provide immediate protection for civilians and hospitals, including medical staff, the injured, and civilians, and protect humanitarian teams working on the ground and provide them with the opportunity to achieve their life-saving goals.
The Red Cross spokesman concluded his speech to Al-Ittihad by stressing the necessity of allowing humanitarian support teams and aid to flow continuously and uninterruptedly through the Rafah crossing in a safe manner that ensures the delivery of support and essentials to hundreds of thousands of displaced people throughout the Gaza Strip.
#Red #Cross #spokesman #Gaza #Strip #told #AlIttihad #humanitarian #conditions #Gaza #tragic
