Many in Gaza face ‘existential threat’
The Gaza Strip is facing multi-layered problems triggered by months of war and devastation. The entire enclave is either damaged or destroyed.
Everywhere I go in Gaza, I keep searching for intact homes or standing buildings. So far, I have failed to find any.
There are people who have returned to where their homes were in Beit Lahiya in order to set up tents.
However, the closest water sources are far – it’s a long journey. Water is essential and without it, sustaining life has become a real problem.
In the absence of international intervention, this problem will continue to unfold with each passing day. The hundreds of thousands of people wanting to return to this area face an existential threat.
A drone view shows Palestinians walking at a street market near buildings damaged and destroyed during the Israeli offensive, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, February 17
Gaza destruction ‘staggering’, says head of UN migration agency after visit
International Organization for Migration (IOM) Director General Amy Pope made the comments on Thursday after she visited southern Gaza.
“The scale of the destruction here is staggering. Families who have lost everything are facing the cold with no protection, no infrastructure or services, and no certainty about what tomorrow will bring,” said Pope.
“I spoke with parents struggling to keep their children alive, using anything they can find to build makeshift shelters because there is simply nowhere else to go,” she said. “That’s why we must scale up operations to help the people here, so they can recover with dignity and live inside Gaza safely, as they have the right to do.”
Gaza hospital director says months passed but reason behind his detention by Israeli army still unclear
Dr Hussam Abu Safia, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, says he does not know his charges or the reason for his detention by Israel.
His statement came during an interview with reporter Yossi Eli of Israel’s Channel 13 that aired yesterday evening.
It marked the first appearance of Abu Safia since his arrest by the Israeli army in December last year. He gained prominence for his humanitarian role during Israel’s war on Gaza and was one of the leading doctors who continued working under bombardment to save the injured.
The Palestinian doctor denied ever seeing or dealing with any Israeli captives in the hospital.
He also denied that Palestinian fighters were treated there, saying “in the end, I am delivering a humanitarian message, and those receiving treatment at our facility were ordinary civilians.”
Abu Safia reiterated that he does not know why he was arrested or what charges he is facing, saying “I don’t know why I am here … I don’t know.”
Essay Pro