New York [US], November 30: Ongoing hostilities continue to put Palestinians at grave risk in the Gaza Strip, particularly civilians trying to survive the Israeli siege in the north, UN humanitarians said on Friday.
Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini of the UN relief agency for Palestinians, known as UNRWA, said the ongoing military operation in the north has uprooted 130,000 people over the past seven weeks.
In northern Gaza, including Gaza City, a critical shortage of cooking gas has forced families to rely on burning waste for fuel, which raises the risk of respiratory infections at a time when healthcare services are minimal, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The World Food Programme (WFP) reported that as the hunger crisis worsens, prices of basic food items have surged by over 1,000 percent compared to pre-hostility levels.
WFP managed to deliver some wheat flour to bakeries in Gaza this week. Although seven bakeries in central Gaza have been working recently, bakeries have intermittently been shutting down and reopening due to a lack of flour and fuel. With bread a lifeline for many families in Gaza, it is often the only food they can access.
The agency said that it is critical that bakeries remain open and that the flow of essential supplies for them -- including wheat and fuel -- is sustained.
UN humanitarian partners reported there is also a critical shortage of adequate shelter for hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the hostilities across Gaza. Less than a quarter of shelter needs in the Gaza Strip have been met, leaving nearly 1 million people at risk of exposure to harsh conditions as winter nears.
OCHA said that about 545,000 people are living in damaged buildings and makeshift shelters, underscoring the urgency of ensuring that thousands of tarpaulins and sealing-off kits to repair living spaces can enter Gaza without delay.
In the south, rains that have flooded shelters along the shoreline in Al-Qarara have displaced hundreds of families to Hamad City in Khan Younis over the past six days.
In the West Bank, OCHA points to a deteriorating situation for Palestinians. During Nov. 19-25, Israeli forces killed nine Palestinians, including one child. Seven of the nine were killed during a 48-hour Israeli operation in Jenin.
Source: Xinhua
