“We are running out of words. Hunger and disease are rampant. This keeps testing our shared humanity.”

Gaza now has the highest number of child amputees per capita in the world.

By Mera Aladam, Middle East Eye, 9 December 2024

The UN agency for Palestinian refugee (Unrwa) has warned that 945,000 Palestinians in Gaza are at risk of exposure to harsh winter conditions, as the humanitarian crisis in the enclave deepens.

Displaced families need protection from rain and cold, Unrwa said on X, adding that only 23 percent of this need has been met.

“Unrwa continues to provide support, distributing plastic tarpaulins and installing tents to offer temporary shelter and protection from the harsh conditions. Aid is urgently required to address the overwhelming needs as the crisis deepens,” the agency added. 

According to the latest report published by Unrwa on Thursday, the Israeli war on Gaza has displaced at least 1.9 million people in the war-battered enclave, which makes up about 90 percent of the population. Some have been displaced 10 or more times.

The agency indicated that there are several problems hindering humanitarian supplies from entering into Gaza, including “deteriorating law and order, war and insecurity, damaged infrastructure, fuel shortages and access restrictions”.

Moreover, food security across Gaza is collapsing, leaving people in a “state of sheer desperation,” according to the report.

In one case last month, two girls and a woman were tragically killed in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza due to overcrowding outisde one of the few bakeries still operational.  

Philippe Lazzarini, the general commissioner of Unrwa, raised concern over the worsening “humanitarian disaster” in the enclave.

“We are running out of words. Hunger and disease are rampant,” he said in a post on X.

“Humanitarians must be enabled to do their job. Hurdles to aid must be removed without further delay, otherwise more lives will be lost. This keeps testing our shared humanity”.

‘A crime against humanity’

Aid access to northern Gaza has been especially challenging, leaving between 65,000 and 75,000 people without access to necessities such as food, water, electricity or reliable healthcare, according to Unrwa’s report.

“Intense military operations are ongoing amid a near total lack of humanitarian aid entering the area, in addition to severe communications and internet disruptions. Some parts of the North Gaza governorate have been under a tightened siege for 60 days,” the report says. 

Balakrishnan Rajagopal, a law professor at MIT and UN special rapporteur on the right to housing, told Middle East Eye that Israel bears responsibility as a state for “all of these grave breaches of international law”.

‘Forcible displacement in northern Gaza under conditions of siege with an intent to eliminate their presence is genocidal’

– Balakrishnan Rajagopal, MIT law professor

“Imposing a siege, preventing all access to food, water, medicine and shelter, all with an intention to force a population to leave, is textbook ethnic cleansing and is a grave crime under international law. It is both a war crime and a crime against humanity,” Rajagopal said. 

“Forcible displacement in northern Gaza under conditions of siege with an intent to eliminate their presence is genocidal, as it aims at the destruction of a people,” he added.

Israel has imposed a blackout on northern Gaza for over two months as part of a military plan that has severely hindered residents from contacting the outside world and sharing information about what they are enduring. Despite this, horrific reports of starvation, bombardment and displacement are still emerging.

Israeli media, analysts and military officials – as well as Palestinians in Gaza – say that the current campaign corresponds to the so-called “Generals’ Plan”, also known as the Eiland Plan.

The plan aims to effectively ethnically cleanse north Gaza of Palestinians before declaring the area a closed military zone. 

‘Decimation of the health system’

The UN report has also made mention of ongoing Israeli strikes that have resulted in civilian deaths and the destruction of residential buildings and public infrastructure.

With continuous Israeli aerial, land and maritime bombardments across the Gaza strip, the death toll has risen to 44,758, with more than 106,134 wounded, the Palestinian health ministry’s latest figures show. 

What is Israel’s ‘Generals’ Plan’ and what does it mean for the war on Gaza?

Read More »

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), at least one quarter of those wounded by 23 July, around 22,500 people, are estimated to have “life-changing injuries that require rehabilitation services now and for years to come”, with severe limb wounds accounting for the majority of cases requiring rehabilitation.

As a result of ongoing Israeli attacks, Gaza now has the highest number of child amputees per capita anywhere in the world, Unrwa indicates in its report.

“The huge surge in rehabilitation needs occurs in parallel with the ongoing decimation of the health system,” Richard Peeperkorn, a WHO Representative in the occupied Palestinian territory, said.

“Patients can’t get the care they need. Acute rehabilitation services are severely disrupted and specialised care for complex injuries is not available, placing patients’ lives at risk. Immediate and long-term support is urgently needed to address the enormous rehabilitation needs.” 

Attacks on health facilities have been reported across Gaza, which according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha), has further hindered medical assistance and services in the enclave. 

A severe shortage of medical supplies and consumables is also impeding the provision of essential healthcare in Gaza, with Unrwa warning that at least 60 medications will be depleted at its health facilities by the end of the year.  

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