“Every day, you think it is the worst day and then the next day is worse,” UN health agency spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said, quoting one of his colleagues in Gaza that is still under an the blockade of almost totality. “Access, access, access is necessary.”
160 children killed daily
The extent of suffering and death the extent of suffering and death is “hard to fathom”, Mr. Lindmeier told reporters in Geneva. In the average, 160 children die each day in the enclave, and the total death toll is now over 10,000, as per statistics of Gaza’s Ministry of Health in Gaza.
In the Hamas-controlled Enclave, Israeli attacks have intensified, while military activities on the ground are ongoing against militants who are linked to the 7 October terror attacks.
In Israel the people of Israel suffer from “frightened, traumatized and anguished for their loved ones” according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO’s) Mr. Lindmeier stated, before reiterating the wide-ranging demands on Hamas to free the hostages.
A lot of prisoners require urgent medical attention The prisoner said they need medical attention immediately.
Diplomatic efforts
In line with earlier UN appeals in the past, Mr. Lindmeier said that what’s needed today to be met is “the political will to at least grant a humanitarian pause and access to alleviate the suffering of the civilian population as well as the hostages in Gaza”.
For 1 month, people across📍#GazaStrip have been denied aid, killed & bombed out of their homes.
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) November 7, 2023
Daily struggles to find bread & water. Blackouts cut people off from loved ones & the rest of the world.
This is forced displacement & humanitarian tragedy of colossal proportions. pic.twitter.com/J12Z4w0hqw
Diplomatic efforts to achieve this goal continue. UN rights head Volker Turk started an eight-day tour of the region of Cairo on Tuesday to discuss the issue with government officials and civil society organizations victims, and UN colleagues. He emphasized the fact that “human rights violations are at the root of this escalation and human rights play a central role in finding a way out of this vortex of pain”.
He’s scheduled to visit Rafah near the border between Egypt and Gaza before he travels to Jordan’s capital city Amman.
UN Humanitarian Affairs Coordination Office (OCHA) OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke told reporters at Geneva it was the UN is invited to participate in the international conference on aid to the humane to Gaza’s civilians, which was hosted by the French government at Paris on Thursday. She also said it will be announced when it is time who would be taking part as representatives of the Organisation.
“Inhumane living conditions”
In the meantime, the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) stated on Tuesday that two-thirds of Gazans were forced to relocate in one month.
“This comes with constant fear and inhumane living conditions for almost 1.5 million people”, UNRWA said, including the daily struggle to get food and water, as and regular blackouts of telecommunications disconnecting people from their family and friends as well as from the rest of the world.
Over 717,000 refugees are residing within 149 UNRWA installations throughout the enclave, with a few in the north region, that has been separated from the remainder part of the Strip by Israeli military operations.
Many trucks are awaiting their turn
“Nothing justifies the horror being endured by civilians in Gaza,” Mr. Lindmeier insisted, insisting on the urgent necessity for water, fuel food, and access to healthcare to live.
He reiterated the United Nations’ calls to provide “unhindered, safe and secure access” to more than 500 aid trucks a day, not just across the border but “all the way through to the patients in the hospitals” where surgeries such as Amputations were performed without anaesthesia.
A plethora of trucks loaded with aid are waiting to be delivered to the border between Egypt and Gaza, and human rights workers on the ground in Gaza are available to assist in the distribution of aid items, he added.
‘Real heroes’
Mr. Lindmeier further said that He was proud of the employees who keep the health system functioning in Gaza regardless of the odds “real heroes” who are “working under constant stress with no respite”.
WHO is mourning 16 health workers who were killed in the course of their work He said, while stressing that all attack on health care is prohibited by international human rights law.
