UNITED NATIONS, Sept 16 (NNN-XINHUA) – The latest Israeli attacks in northern Gaza, reportedly killing or injuring dozens, are having “an appalling impact on civilians, enduring suffering and starvation,” a UN spokesman said, yesterday.
“We condemn the deadly escalation of the Israeli military offensive, which we saw over the weekend across Gaza City,” said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres. “We reiterate our call for the protection of civilians and humanitarian personnel, and full respect for international law.”
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said, thousands of displaced people fled heavy strikes and bombardment across the city, on heavily congested Al Rashid Road, the only route available to the south.
Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East said on Sunday that, in the previous four days, 10 of the agency’s Gaza City buildings were hit, including seven schools and two clinics used as shelters for thousands of the displaced.
He warned that, as airstrikes in Gaza City and the broader northern Gaza intensify, exhausted and terrified civilians are displaced yet again.
OCHA said that, partners monitoring the exodus reported nearly 70,000 people heading south, primarily to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis. In the past month, they observed about 150,000 movements from north to south.
The World Food Programme said that, forced displacement from Gaza City exhausts families’ resources and disrupts their last lifelines. Without safe, sustained access, the risk of worsening hunger grows, especially for children.
OCHA said, the cost of fleeing to the south has increased, to as much as 1,600 U.S. dollars, forcing many to stay put.
“Partners report that one-third of malnutrition treatment facilities in Gaza City have already shut down, due to forced displacement orders from the Israelis,” the office said.
The Gaza health authorities said that, three more people died due to malnutrition and starvation over a span of 24 hours. “Overall, the ministry reports that 425 people across Gaza have died, due to malnutrition and starvation, about a third of them children, since Oct 7, 2023,” OCHA said.
However, OCHA said, insecurity and displacement orders have forced the suspension of health services, though water, sanitation and hygiene partners scaled up production to several water distribution points. In Deir al-Balah, more than half of the ambulances are out of service, with a minimal number serving thousands of people. At one Khan Younis clinic, partners recorded a 50 percent surge in the number of patients in recent weeks, with an average of 300 patients a day.
The office said that, humanitarian movements inside the Gaza Strip continue to face impediments.
It said that, out of 17 missions coordinated with Israeli authorities on Sunday, only four were facilitated. Seven missions were denied, including the delivery of water tanks to the north. Another four missions were impeded, but three of them were eventually accomplished, including the collection of fuel and food from the Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem border crossing. Two other missions had to be cancelled by the organisers.
OCHA said that, humanitarian teams on the ground reported that, congestion along the routes they use is slowing down humanitarian movements in Mawasi and Deir al-Balah, as well as, on the way from southern to northern Gaza. Partners estimated that about 77 percent of road networks in Gaza have been damaged, with Gaza and Khan Younis governorates being the most severely affected.
“Despite reduced capacity due to access constraints and insecurity, humanitarian partners remain committed to delivering to people in need, wherever they are and wherever they go, as conditions allow,” the office said. “OCHA continues to call for unimpeded humanitarian access. Aid should flow at scale through multiple crossings into and within Gaza, including the north.”– NNN-XINHUA