The United Nations warn that the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza could get exponentially worse as it expects to distribute its final batch of supplies and critical aid to Gaza’s population, exhausted by a weeks-long blanket blockade.
ADVERTISEMENT
At least 35 Palestinians were killed and more than 100 others were injured on Wednesday as Israel continues to strike Gaza.
Airstrikes targeting residences in the centre of the enclave killed at least 12 people, including children, as reported by Palestinian hospital personnel, who received the deceased.
The early morning attacks targeted three residences in the Nuseirat refugee camp. The casualties included three children, two of whom were brothers, with their remains arriving in fragments, according to the morgue staff.
Israel has been conducting daily strikes on homes, shelters and public spaces since it moved to resume fighting on 18 March. The blockade has deprived the more than 2 million Gazans of all imports, including essential food and medical supplies, for nearly two months.
The United Nations has reported that food reserves have been depleted, and humanitarian organizations indicate that thousands of Palestinian children are suffering from malnutrition.
Israel asserts that the blockade is intended to compel Hamas to release hostages taken on 7 October, 2023. Nevertheless, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights cautioned this week that using starvation as a military strategy against civilians constitutes a war crime.
UN warns supplies will run out in days
The humanitarian office of the United Nations reports critical shortages of food, water, and medical supplies as healthcare services deteriorate and charitable kitchens cease operations.
The agency, known as OCHA, announced on Wednesday that it will distribute its final sixty emergency shelter kits in the coming days, which do not include tents.
The UN Population Fund has indicated that it has exhausted all of its shelter materials, hygiene products, and menstrual hygiene kits.
OCHA further noted that only seven hospitals and four field hospitals continue to offer obstetric and newborn care for families in Gaza, where over 2 million individuals reside.
Meanwhile, hospitals are observing a significant increase in cases of malnourished pregnant and breastfeeding women, with a majority of newborns now being birthed underweight.
Charity kitchens at risk of shutting down
Scores of Palestinians gathered at charity kitchens in Deir al-Balah and Nuseirat to get their only meal for the day as food across the territory runs out. On Wednesday, one kitchen served pasta in a thin tomato sauce, another served just lentils.
Crowds of people pushed against each other and yelled as they held their pots and containers up high in the air in a desperate attempt to not leave empty-handed.
“There is starvation. There is no food or thing to drink," said Wafaa, a woman displaced in Nuseirat with eight family members, who gave only her first name. "It would be a significant crisis if the charity kitchens close.”
Abu Hamza Fawaz, who works with the charity kitchen in Deir al-Balah, said that the kitchen will close in a few days due to the lack of food and fuel.
Ahmed Yassin who works with another charity kitchen in Nuseirat, said that a significant number of small charity kitchens closed a while ago and people had to rely on the main communal kitchens.
The war began when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people, most of them civilians. Hamas took 251 people as hostages, and is currently holding 59, of whom 24 are believed to be alive.
A subsequent Israeli offensive has to date killed more than 52,400 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry whose figure does not distinguish between fighters and civilians. According to the Israeli military’s latest figures, 850 of its soldiers have died since the start of the war.