Intensifying military operations in Gaza City will have a terrible humanitarian impact
Israel's plan to intensify military operations in Gaza City will have a terrible humanitarian impact on people who are already exhausted , malnourished, grieving, displaced and deprived of basic necessities for survival.
This is the complaint made by the National Humanitarian Team of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, which brings together the heads of United Nations entities and over 200 international and local NGOs working on humanitarian issues in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in accordance with internationally agreed humanitarian principles.
"Forcing hundreds of thousands of people to move south is a recipe for further disaster and could amount to forced displacement," the statement reads. " We reiterate our commitment to serving people wherever they are and remain present in Gaza City to provide lifesaving support . We remind the parties to the conflict of their obligations under international law to protect civilians, including humanitarian workers and those who cannot or choose not to move, and to safeguard humanitarian facilities and other civilian infrastructure."
"Israel's announcement that tents and other shelter equipment will once again be allowed into Gaza is a positive development," the statement continues, "as are other ongoing efforts. However, it is deeply concerning that this is happening in conjunction with an imminent offensive . Since the beginning of March, no shelter materials—including tents, tarpaulins, and mattresses—have been allowed into Gaza, and over 780,000 new displacements have occurred. Existing shelters have deteriorated or been abandoned due to repeated evacuation orders, making the need for new housing more urgent."
Approximately 86% of the Gaza Strip is already under evacuation orders or located in Israeli-militarized zones. The remaining areas, including parts of Gaza City and parts of the southern coast, are overcrowded and ill-equipped to support large-scale human survival. Hospitals in the south are operating at significantly higher capacity than expected, and accepting patients from the north would have potentially lethal consequences.
We reiterate our urgent call for a permanent ceasefire and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages , who in the meantime must be treated humanely. We require unimpeded humanitarian access throughout Gaza, with the full facilitation of principled relief operations, including community-based distributions and large-scale supplies entering through all possible crossings and land routes. Humanitarian partners – UN agencies and NGOs – must be allowed to operate unimpeded.
AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi/LaPresse
- Tags:
- Gaza
- war
- Hamas
- Israel
- Middle East
- Gaza Strip
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