United Nations: Gaza residents face a “triple threat” of war, disease and hunger

Gaza (Union)

Israel continued its bombing of Gaza yesterday, as the war against the Strip entered its 100th day with no end to this campaign in sight, amid a major humanitarian crisis, the displacement of most of the population, and the destruction of a large part of the infrastructure and civilian infrastructure in the Strip.
A United Nations official warned that families in the Gaza Strip face a “triple threat” of war, disease due to a lack of clean water, and hunger due to lack of food.
Lucia Elmi, Special Representative of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to Palestine, said in a press conference from Jerusalem via video conference that she had just returned from Gaza, where she spent a week there.
She said, “Thousands of children have already died, and thousands more will also die if three urgent problems are not addressed immediately. These problems are safety from bombing, the logistics of providing aid, and the resumption of the commercial sector.”
Elma told reporters, “In the last two weeks alone, cases of diarrhea among children in Gaza have doubled to 70,000 cases.”
She added that about 135,000 children are at high risk of acute malnutrition.
The official indicated that an immediate and permanent ceasefire is the only way to stop the killing and injury of children and families and enable the urgent transfer of much-needed humanitarian aid.
Yesterday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that the death toll from the war on Gaza since October 7 had risen to 23,843 dead and 60,317 injured.
In turn, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, stressed the need to reject any attempt to change the demographic composition of the Gaza Strip, expressing deep concern about recent statements by Israeli ministers regarding plans to encourage the mass transfer of civilians from Gaza to third countries, which is currently referred to as “ Voluntary relocation.
He stressed that “these statements raise serious concerns about the possibility of forced mass transfer or forced deportation of the Palestinian population from the Gaza Strip, which is strictly prohibited under international law,” stressing that any displaced person in Gaza must be allowed to return, in accordance with international law.
Griffiths explained that efforts to send humanitarian convoys to the north were met with delays, rejection, and the imposition of impossible conditions, noting that expanding the attack on Rafah would represent a serious challenge to the “already exhausted” humanitarian operations that require taking exceptional measures to provide meager aid.
Before the Security Council, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Elsa Brands-Keres said: “The threat of forced displacement has a special resonance for the Palestinians, as it is engraved in the Palestinian collective consciousness through the Nakba that occurred in 1948 when millions of Palestinians were forced to leave their homes.”
She added that “forced evictions that do not meet the legally necessary conditions may amount to forced transfer,” stressing the need to address the root causes behind them in order to reach a lasting solution to this crisis.
Since Friday, the humanitarian catastrophe has worsened with the complete interruption of communications and Internet services in Gaza, which the Palestinian telecommunications company “Paltel” attributed to the Israeli side, which “disconnected the servers.” Communications in Gaza have been cut off several times since the war began, and each time rescuers complain about its impact on the coordination of emergency services.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society said in a statement, “The cut off in communications increases the challenges facing the Red Crescent crews in providing their ambulance services and reaching the wounded and injured as quickly as possible.”
The lack of fuel also led to the closure of the main generator at “Shuhada Al-Aqsa” Hospital in “Deir Al-Balah” in the middle of the Gaza Strip, according to a source in the Ministry of Health.
Health authorities in Gaza expressed their fear of deaths that may occur to patients and children, especially in intensive care and nursery departments.