” Gaza floods disaster for desperate Palestinians”, UNRWA Chief Philippe Lazzarini

Anjali Sharma

GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 15th Dec. UN humanitarians on Thursday voiced deep concerns over the deteriorating health situation in Gaza Strip, as heavy rains created new misery after ongoing Israeli bombardment and fighting with Palestinian militant groups, Hamas.

UN humanitarian affairs coordination office OCHA said that many areas in Gaza have been flooded, “worsening the struggle of displaced Palestinians”.

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini briefed journalists in Geneva on the situation after his most recent visit to Gaza.

The agency reported 1.9 million people in Gaza have have been displaced by the violence and over half have sought safety in the southern town of Rafah.

UN Palestine refugee agency shelters in the south of the Strip are 9 times over capacity and scores of people live outdoors, exposed to the harsh weather, or in makeshift shelters.

OCHA said that in the overcrowded shelters, sewage cannot be managed. Combined with the flooding and the accumulation of waste, the conditions have attracted insects, mosquitoes and rats, further compounding risks of disease spread.

Gaza health authorities said that they had documented 360,000 cases of infectious diseases in shelters and that the actual numbers could be higher.

UN humanitarian partners providing water, sanitation and hygiene support to Gaza’s population reported an urgent need for construction materials to fix damaged water pipelines.

OCHA said “Inability to provide repairs could result in water being cut off from certain areas in the south of Gaza”.

It added that Kamal Adwan Hospital, in Beit Lahiya north of Gaza City was raided by Israeli troops on Wednesday for the second time “with reports of mass arrests and ill-treatment of people who they have detained”.

According to OCHA 5 doctors and all the female staff detained the previous day were released from custody but the hospital’s director and some 70 other medical staff “remain detained in an unknown location outside of the hospital”.

WHO expressed concern about the raid and urged the protection of patients and staff inside the hospital.

UN human rights experts alarmed over the “tragic consequences” of the conflict for women and girls in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel.

The Working Group on Discrimination against Women and Girls, expressed serious concern over the hostage-taking of Israeli women and girls by Hamas during its terror attacks on 7 October and over “increasing allegations of sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas and other armed groups against women and girls in Israel” that day, called for the claims to be investigated and for perpetrators to be held accountable.

The y also deplored the disastrous impact of the conflict on the health, education and livelihood of women and girls in Gaza since 7 October 2,784 women in Gaza have become widows.