(Reuters) – The Gaza Strip has been suffering from an ongoing humanitarian catastrophe for nearly seven months since Israel launched a devastating offensive in response to the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 that killed 1,200 people in Israel.
More than 34,600 people were killed in the Israeli offensive that destroyed much of the Gaza Strip, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, and thousands more are feared to be missing under the rubble.
Here are some details of the humanitarian situation:
Displacement and shelter
An estimated 1.7 million people, more than 75% of Gaza's population, have been displaced, many of whom have been forced to move repeatedly, according to the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
Many have taken refuge in Rafah on the Egyptian border where the threat of an Israeli attack has loomed large for months, raising fears of a larger humanitarian crisis.
The displaced were crowded into overcrowded shelters in or near UNRWA facilities, such as schools, temporary tents, and homes that had not been leveled.
The conflict damaged or destroyed approximately 62% of all homes in Gaza, or 290,820 housing units, according to an interim damage assessment released by the World Bank in March.
It could take about 14 years to clear the massive amount of rubble, including unexploded ordnance, according to a senior official with the UN Mine Action Service.
Famine looms
The World Food Program says 1.1 million people in Gaza suffer from catastrophic levels of hunger. The situation is particularly tragic in the north.
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There has been no official declaration of famine in Gaza by UN agencies: this declaration is based on a set of criteria to measure the extent of hunger experienced by the population and is assessed through the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), an initiative of the World Health Organization. More than a dozen UN agencies, regional bodies and relief groups.
However, World Food Program Executive Director Cindy McCain told NBC News that there is now “total famine” in northern Gaza.
In excerpts of an interview scheduled to air May 5 on “Meet the Press,” McCain told NBC that she hopes a ceasefire agreement can be reached so more aid can be delivered more quickly.
He said: “There is famine – total famine – in the north, and it is moving towards the south. And so what we are asking for and what we are constantly demanding is a ceasefire and access without restrictions.” McCain.
Her comments followed statements by World Food Program Vice-President Karl Skau on April 25 that more aid must be delivered to avoid famine in northern Gaza, despite what he described as a slight uptick in deliveries and some progress in reaching that part of Gaza. .
The Gaza Ministry of Health reported on April 25 that at least 28 children, most as young as 12 months old, had died from malnutrition and dehydration since February.
The World Health Organization said, in a report covering the period until April 20, that 16-25% of children aged 6-59 months suffer from acute malnutrition in northern Gaza, while 2-4% of them suffer from acute malnutrition. The extreme. . She added that between 3 and 7% of children in southern Gaza suffer from acute malnutrition.
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By the end of April, four bakeries had reopened in northern Gaza with support from the World Food Programme. UNRWA described it as a drop in the ocean.
Sigrid Kaag, the UN's senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator in Gaza, said on April 24 that scarcity of food and other basic goods had led to the collapse of civil order, and there was no effective law enforcement.
Pressure on Israel to get more aid
Israel, which imposed a complete blockade on Gaza in the early days of the war, is facing increasing international pressure, including from its ally the United States, to allow more aid to enter. American pressure on Israel escalated after an Israeli attack led to the killing of seven aid workers at the World Central Kitchen on April 1.
Israel inspects all aid shipments before they enter Gaza.
In early April, Israel pledged to improve aid access, especially to northern Gaza, including reopening the Erez crossing and allowing the use of Ashdod port. The Israeli army said on April 28 that the amount of aid entering Gaza would be increased in the coming days.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on April 29 that “tangible progress” had been made in the humanitarian situation. But he said that was still not enough, and said he would pressure Israeli officials to do more.
In March, the European Union foreign policy chief said that Israel was fomenting famine in Gaza and using famine as a weapon of war. The Israeli Foreign Minister rejected this accusation, saying that Israel allowed the entry of “large-scale humanitarian aid.” Israel has also accused Hamas of stealing aid – something Hamas vehemently denies – and has placed the blame on UN agencies, describing them as ineffective.
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The United States is building a dock off Gaza to deliver aid, although UN officials have said this is no substitute for land routes from Israel to Gaza. The United States and some of its allies also dropped air aid into Gaza. A number of Palestinians drowned or were killed due to the aid dropped by planes.
The disease is spreading through the devastated health system
Kaag, the UN humanitarian chief, said on April 24 that Gaza's health infrastructure had been destroyed. The few hospitals still standing are struggling to function due to severe shortages of supplies and frequent power outages. She added: “As summer approaches and temperatures rise, infectious diseases threaten to invade the Gaza Strip.”
The World Health Organization says only 11 of Gaza's 36 hospitals are partially functioning – five in the north and six in the south. Donors established six field hospitals in southern Gaza.
UNRWA says that as of April 18, eight of the 24 health centers it runs in the Gaza Strip were operational.
In a snapshot of the dire situation, the World Health Organization reported that two medical points near the largest site for displaced people in eastern Khan Yunis were overwhelmed by daily cases of hepatitis, skin diseases and diarrhoea, and medical supplies were extremely low when UN officials visited. On April 9th.
The World Health Organization said an estimated 9,000 patients in critical condition had to be evacuated from Gaza.
Sewage
Gaza had been suffering from a water crisis for years before the recent conflict. It has worsened significantly since the start of the war.
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Aid agencies warned in February that the majority of the population had no access to clean drinking water and that sanitation services were woefully ineffective, with none of Gaza's wastewater treatment systems functioning.
Outbreaks of diarrheal diseases and hepatitis A were among the indicators of poor water supply and sanitation. They urged the provision of sufficient fuel to operate vital water and sanitation plants.