Aid workers in Gaza fear intensified Israeli bombing as truce talks continue
Christian Aid, a British aid agency, says its Palestinian partners in Gaza are “hopeful” of a ceasefire but also afraid that Israel may step up attacks on the Strip before agreeing to a truce.
“Our partners are hopeful for a deal, and happy – of course – that the suffering families are having to endure may ease,” said Katie Roxburgh, a Christian Aid programme manager, after speaking to her colleagues on the ground.
“But they told me they are also afraid, because the last moments before a ceasefire is agreed are brutal due to intensified bombing,” she said. A deal “cannot come soon enough”, Roxburgh said.
“It would offer Palestinians in Gaza respite from the relentless bombardment, displacement and deprivation they have endured for the last 15 months and an opportunity to release all hostages and illegally held detainees,” she said.
Fuel shortages continue to threaten Gaza hospitals, UN says
The UN’s humanitarian agency (OCHA) is warning that the fuel crisis in Gaza is continuing to threaten the operation of health facilities in the Strip, directly affecting medical care for 2,000 patients in Deir el-Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah, and another 220 in the north of the enclave.
The shortages could also shut down 75 haemodialysis machines across the Strip, the agency said, threatening the lives of “approximately 700 patients suffering from kidney diseases”.
At present, the partially operational hospitals in Gaza do not have any fuel reserves and are relying on piecemeal deliveries from international agencies just to safeguard the most critical services, it said.
The crisis has been caused by Israel’s blockade of Gaza, as well as the looting of the little supplies that get through by armed Palestinian gangs, aid agencies say.
Gaza’s fuel crisis could also shut down water and sanitation services
The UN’s humanitarian agency is warning that critical water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in Gaza are also at risk of grinding to a halt because of a lack of fuel. Unless additional supplies are allowed in, aid groups would also be unable to transport and distribute water, the agency added.
Combined, the lack of fuel and access restrictions have forced aid groups to make impossible choices, “having to decide daily between providing water, pumping sewage, repairing water or sewage leaks, or transferring solid waste”, it reported.
“Displaced people, particularly in northern Gaza, have been forced to either survive on extremely limited quantities of water for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene, or to take long dangerous trips for collection, or even resort to using unsafe water sources,” it said.
“Aggravating these conditions is the lack of fuel for sewage and solid waste management, which continues to cause sewage spills and a mounting accumulation of solid waste in or near displacement sites, exacerbating the spread of vermin, infectious diseases and other public health risks.”
Israel continues to deny UN aid missions to North Gaza
Stephane Dujarric, the UN spokesman, says Israeli authorities are continuing to deny aid missions, turning down two attempts to reach hospitals in north Gaza on Tuesday.
“The missions were meant to evacuate patients from the al-Awda and Indonesian hospitals – and to deliver food, water, fuel, hygiene kits as well as cleaning supplies, which are critical to hospitals,” he told reporters in New York.
“You’ll recall that access to al-Awda Hospital in Jabalia remains extremely limited as the Israeli siege in North Gaza governorate continues. Al-Awda is the only hospital that is still partially functioning in North Gaza governorate, but it faces critical shortages of the most basic items including fuel and medical supplies.”
The Israeli siege of North Gaza has been going on for more than 100 days, and Palestinian authorities say the offensive has left at least 5,000 people killed or missing.
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