The leaders of 22 leading aid agencies have called on world leaders to “urgently intervene” to halt the war on Gaza as Israel expands its air and ground offensive.
“The inhumanity of the situation in Gaza is unconscionable,” the joint statement said. The group, which includes Medecins Sans Frontieres, Oxfam International and Save the Children, has accused Israel of forcibly displacing Gaza City’s inhabitants and rendering the strip’s main city “uninhabitable”.
After ordering one million residents to leave, Israel opened a temporary second evacuation route along Salahuddin Road in the middle of the strip to add to al-Rashid Street which runs along the coast.
Although Israel has said 350,0000 residents have left Gaza City, fleeing is difficult or impossible for tens of thousands of repeatedly displaced, exhausted, disabled and elderly Gazans who do not have funds to flee or pay for shelter elsewhere.
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It can take those who walk the 22km escape routes up to 12 hours in temperatures of up to 36 degrees. The journey by car or truck from Gaza City to the centre or south of the strip can cost $1,000-$2,000 (€850-€1,700). The price of a tent can reach $1,000 – if tents are available. Tents in use have deteriorated and offer little protection.
Displaced Gaza City residents have been told by Israel to join tens of thousands at the overcrowded, “safe zone” at al-Mawasi on the coast which is 14km long and 3km wide. It covers just 3 per cent of Gaza’s territory while Israel’s army now occupies more than 70 per cent.
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At al-Mawasi, which Israel has repeatedly bombed, there is no portable or washing water. The camp also lacks food, electricity, toilets and drainage for the sewage which flows between tents.
There is no cooking gas and little firewood, forcing families to use garbage and plastic for heating food.
Some recent arrivals from Gaza City have returned to their ruined homes despite the offensive. Children are in their third year without education.
Due to Israel’s blockade, the UN says the volume of water, food, medicine and fuel entering Gaza does not meet the urgent needs of the people.
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Gaza’s health ministry has reported 432 deaths from starvation, including 146 children. In total, more than 65,000 people have died in the last 23 months, according to the Gazan authorities.
While cases of acute malnutrition have risen, Israel’s offensive has forced the closure of 21 of 50 treatment centres, putting about 4,000 children at risk, according to the UN humanitarian affairs office.
Speaking from Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, UN humanitarian affairs spokeswoman Olga Cherevko told Al-Jazeera: “The hygiene conditions are so dire that [they could] lead to a massive spread of diseases, skin rashes, and all sorts of public health crises.”
Of Gaza’s 36 hospitals, 17 are partially functioning. The rest are not providing services. Shortages of medical supplies are compelling doctors to choose who among their patients will live or die.
