Today's Edition
Ahmed Atef (Gaza, Cairo)
The United Nations (UN) warned of the spread of intestinal, skin, and hepatitis diseases in the Gaza Strip. UN also announced that Israel had halved the amount of fuel allocated for humanitarian aid at the end of the humanitarian truce.
Adnan Abu Hasna, the media advisor for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), on Sunday warned of the outbreak of intestinal, skin, and hepatitis diseases in the Gaza Strip. Abu Hasna said that “intestinal diseases in Gaza have spread at a rate four times larger than what it was previously, while skin diseases have tripled”.
The UN official confirmed reports of the spread of hepatitis in the sector, along with the start of other epidemics, such as cholera. On Saturday, Thomas White, Director of UNRWA Affairs in the Gaza Strip, said that one of the UN agency’s schools in the Palestinian sector is experiencing an outbreak of hepatitis A. UNRWA also stated that Israel had halved the amount of fuel allocated for humanitarian aid at the end of the humanitarian truce, noting that this would cost more lives.
White wrote in a message on the X platform: “Fuel is vital to saving lives – with the end of the ‘pause’ the Israeli authorities have made the decision to cut fuel for humanitarian aid by 50% – this will cost more lives.” In turn, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organisation, warned yesterday that the situation of the healthcare sector in Gaza is “unimaginable”, and emphasised that reports of intense Israeli bombing are “petrifying”.
Ghebreyesus said in a message published on the X platform: “The reports of ongoing hostilities and heavy bombardment in Gaza are petrifying.”
He added: “Yesterday, our team visited Nassar Medical Hospital in the south. It was packed with 1,000 patients - three times over its capacity. Countless people were seeking shelter, filling every corner of the facility. Patients were receiving care on the floor, screaming in pain. “ He emphasised that these conditions are absolutely unsuitable and unimaginable in providing healthcare.
Ghebreyesus concluded by saying that he “cannot find words strong enough to express our concern over what we’re witnessing”, reiterating the call for an immediate ceasefire.
Meanwhile, Volker Türk, the UN Commissioner for Human Rights, said on Sunday that the brutal resumption of hostilities in the Gaza Strip and the horrific impact on civilians confirm the need to end the violence. Türk added in a post on his official account on the X platform that a political solution based on the only viable long-term foundation is necessary, which is full respect for the human rights of Palestinians and Israelis.
He emphasised that the brutal resumption of hostilities in Gaza and the horrific impact on civilians underscore the need to end the violence. The spokesman for the Rafah crossing on the Palestinian side, Wael Abu Omar, told Aletihad that 100 aid trucks, including 3 fuel trucks, entered the Gaza Strip.
He noted that the total number of people leaving the Strip towards Egypt was 894, including 862 foreigners, 12 injured, and one patient accompanied by 16 people, in addition to a three-member UN delegation.
On December 1, a seven-day-long humanitarian truce between the Palestinians and Israel, brokered by Qatar and Egypt, came to an end.
During this period, there was an exchange of prisoners and the introduction of limited humanitarian aid to the sector, which is home to approximately 2.3 million Palestinians.
