By Vildan Kabasakal
Philippe Lazzarini, the United Nations Agency for the Relief of Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) General Commissioner, said the 3.5 month long Israeli attacks have shaken the increasingly worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza.(AA)
After his fourth visit to Gaza since October 7, 2023, Lazzarini gave reporters an assessment of the humanitarian situation in the region.
Lazzarini emphasized that the mood of the displaced people, many of whom Israel declared safe space and then bombarded in the south of Gaza, and the conditions in which they lived, shook him, during four separate visits to the region, he said he observed that humanitarian conditions were deteriorating.
Lazzarini said, “There are now temporary shelters made of plastic that multiply like mushrooms almost everywhere.
Lazzarini, who stated that hundreds of thousands of Gazans live on the streets and makeshift places, pointed out that some Gazans sleep on concrete.
Lazzarini said the UN’s housing areas in the region are not an option for civilians, due to overcrowding and poor health conditions.
In some areas, Lazzarini said that women do not want to use toilets and baths that do not meet hygiene conditions, and whether they eat something because they do not want to use it, diarrhea and skin diseases spread rapidly.
the UN official said that the feeling of helplessness that surges the Gazans also shook him, noting that because of the exhaustion of their hopes and the “bother” hygiene conditions they were in, Gazans were only trying to survive.
According to data shared by the Media Office of the government in Gaza on January 13, 2 million people were displaced in Gaza, where 300 thousand people live.
UNRWA stressed that the situation in Gaza has deteriorated on an unprecedented level, calling on the international community to “immediate humanitarian ceasefire.”
At least 10,300 children, 7,100 women, 24,448 Palestinians were killed and 61,504 injured in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.
In the Gaza Strip, where the entry of humanitarian aid is blocked by Israeli forces, there is a great difficulty in treating the wounded as they are suffering from shortages of medicines and health supplies as well as basic supplies.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has reported that the concentration in tents in which displaced people remain on the Gaza Strip has led to infectious diseases.(AA)
