‘No reliable source’ of electricity left in Gaza: Local authorities
The Gaza Government Media Office reports that relentless Israeli military attacks on the electrical grid have left the besieged territory with “no reliable source” of power, leading to suffering and deaths across the enclave.
It said 10 lines supplying electricity to Gaza with a capacity of 120 megawatts were cut off by Israel on October 7, and the only power plant in the enclave stopped working four days later due to fuel running out.
The office underscored that electricity is needed “to operate thousands of vital facilities that are linked to the lives of 2.3 million citizens”.
“The most important of these sectors are the health sector, water and wells sector, sanitation sector, communications sector, education sector, and the mills and bakeries sector, which had severe negative effects that directly contributed to deepening the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and led to the death of thousands of injured and sick people, including children, women and the elderly,” it said.
This October 27 image from intense Israeli airstrikes in different regions of the Gaza Strip shows how the enclave was thrust into darkness soon after Israel cut off electricity and fuel supplies
‘Surgeries without sterile clothing’
Fadel Naim, a Gaza-based orthopedic surgeon, has said that for the first time at Nasser Medical Complex, surgeons have run out of scrubs and are forced to perform surgery without them.
The hospital is in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip,
“Surgeons were forced to perform a surgery without sterile clothing, exposing the patient to complications such as infection and surgical failure,” he wrote in a post on X.
Medical centres and hospitals are running out of medicine, medical equipment and sterile scrubs with the dwindling of humanitarian aid coming into the besieged coastal enclave due to the Israeli blockade.
For the first time in Nasser Medical Complex history in Khan younis in the southern part of the Gaza Strip , surgeons were forced to perform a surgery without sterile clothing, exposing the patient to complications such as infection and surgical failure.
— Dr Fadel Naim (@fnaim65) August 2, 2024
Israeli restrictions, unsafe conditions ‘significantly hinder’ aid to Gaza: UN
The UN’s Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says Israeli restrictions, the closure of the Rafah border crossing, continued fighting and damaged and risky roads are preventing life-saving aid from getting to Gaza.
OCHA’s latest Gaza report says the Israeli military continues to impose restrictions on the entry of certain humanitarian supplies, including recreational and psychosocial support kits for children.
“Between 1 and 29 July, an average of 77 truckloads of aid supplies entered Gaza daily, representing a decline of about 42 per cent compared with the daily average of 132 trucks between January and April 2024,” the OCHA says.
“In July, out of 157 humanitarian assistance missions coordinated with the Israeli authorities to northern Gaza, 67 missions were facilitated by the Israeli authorities, 42 were impeded, 30 were denied, and 18 were cancelled due to logistical, operational, or security reasons.”
Out of 386 aid mission requests to reach areas south of Wadi Gaza that require coordination, 250 missions were facilitated by the Israeli authorities, 46 were impeded, 53 were denied and 37 were cancelled, according to OCHA.
#Gaza:
❗️85 sick and severely injured patients left the Strip for treatment on 31 July in the largest medical evacuation since October 2023.
❗️Hepatitis A is spreading and, since the war's onset, @UNRWA has recorded nearly 40K cases in its shelters and clinics.
More updates 👇
— UN Humanitarian (@UNOCHA) August 2, 2024
