UN warns of catastrophic humanitarian situation in war-ravaged Gaza as ceasefire talks drag on
UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is closely following negotiations in Doha focused on trying to end the war in Gaza, where the situation continues to remain calamitous after more than 10 months of relentless Israeli bombardments, his spokesperson has said.
Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters at the regular press briefing in New York on Monday that the UN chief had spoken to Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Sunday.
“He was briefed on the state of the situation, and he will be staying in close touch and informed,” Dujarric said.
The talks, backed by Egypt, Qatar and the United States, are expected to resume on Wednesday or Thursday in Cairo, following a two-day meeting involving the three nations and Israel in Doha last week.
“The Secretary-General very much hopes that all the parties involved will find the political courage, the political will to come to an agreement for the sake of the people of Gaza, for the sake of the people of Israel, for the sake of the hostages,” the spokesperson added.
The already catastrophic situation in Gaza, is worsening amid repeated waves of displacement, combined with overcrowding, insecurity, crumbling infrastructure, active hostilities and limited services, he said.
The Israeli onslaught has claimed the lives of over 40,000 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children and injured more than 92,000, according to the Gazan health ministry. In addition, close to 90 per cent of the population has been displaced – many forced to move several times.
“OCHA [the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs] warns that the ongoing hostilities, constant evacuation orders, and severe shortages of essential supplies are making it increasingly difficult for displaced families to access basic services at their place of arrival,” Dujarric said.
He added that since October last year, 86 per cent of the Gaza Strip – about 314 square kilometres – has been placed under evacuation orders.
“As you may know, Gaza’s population is increasingly concentrated in a zone designated by Israeli authorities in Al Mawasi, where Palestinians have been told to go,” he said, noting that according to OCHA, the density of the area has surged to between 30,000 and 34,000 people per square kilometre, compared to an estimated 1,200 people prior to the war.
Severe shortages of fuel and medical supplies continue to disrupt the functionality of remaining hospitals and primary healthcare centres, particularly in northern Gaza, OCHA reported in a humanitarian bulletin on Monday.
It cited an announcement by the Director of the Al Awda Hospital in northern Gaza that all surgeries had been postponed and an appeal made for urgent fuel supplies to avert further deaths at the facility.
Conditions are equally critical at the Kamal Adwan Hospital, where fuel and medical supply shortages are reportedly threatening critical functions, OCHA noted, adding that the UN World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners were working on getting fuel to these facilities.
Furthermore, on Sunday, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) warned that its ambulances, emergency medical clinics and relief services could grind to a halt in northern Gaza due to a lack of fuel. Its teams are already operating at minimum capacity and only two out of eight ambulances are operational, it added.
