The war in Gaza is one of the biggest tragedy in human history. The death toll is mounting, and thousands of people have been displaced from their homes.
More than a million people have fled their homes in the besieged Gaza Strip in the past week, ahead of expected Israel invasion that seeks to eliminate Hamas’ leadership after its deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel. The enclave’s food and water supplies are dwindling, and its hospitals are warning that they are on the verge of collapse.
Israeli officials have given no timetable for a ground incursion that aid groups warn could hasten a humanitarian crisis in the coastal Gaza enclave.
About 500,000 people, nearly one quarter of Gaza’s population, were taking refuge in United Nations schools and other facilities across the territory, where water supplies were dwindling,
With the situation in Gaza growing increasingly desperate, U.S. national security adviser said to focus on getting humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza.
Hospitals in Gaza are expected to run out of generator fuel within two days, endangering the lives of thousands of patients, according to the U.N. Gaza’s sole power plant shut down for lack of fuel after Israel completely sealed off the 25-mile long territory following the Hamas attack.
The World Health Organization expressed concern to The Associated Press about limited water and sanitation in the territory, particularly at hospitals where patients’ lives can be lost due to infection and disease outbreaks. The WHO said four hospitals in northern Gaza are no longer functioning as a result of damage and 21 hospitals are under an Israeli evacuation order.
The U.N. warned that evacuating almost half of crowded Gaza’s population would be calamitous, and it urged Israel to reverse the unprecedented directive. As airstrikes hammered the territory throughout the day, families in cars, trucks and donkey carts packed with possessions streamed down a main road out of Gaza City.
Unrelenting Israeli strikes over the past week have levelled large swaths of neighbourhoods, magnifying the suffering of Gaza, which has also been sealed off from food, water and medical supplies, and under a virtual total power blackout.
“Forget about food, forget about electricity, forget about fuel. The only concern now is just if you’ll make it, if you’re going to live,” said Nebal Farsakh, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent in Gaza City, as she broke into heaving sobs.
The United Nations has a responsibility to uphold international law and protect human rights. The UN Security Council must pass a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The UN should also send a peacekeeping force to the Gaza Strip to monitor the ceasefire and protect civilians.
The Great Chyren Welfare Council appeals to the United Nations to take immediate action to stop the war in Gaza, to provide food, water, shelter, and medical care to those in need and to penalize Israel and Hamas for their roles in the conflict. The international community must also work to rebuild Gaza’s infrastructure and economy.
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