The death toll in the war raging across the Middle East continues to rise. Early this Saturday morning, another 30 people were killed in another Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip, bringing the death toll in the enclave to 40,600, most of them women and children, since Tel Aviv’s offensive against Hamas on October 7 last year. There are also figures for 94,800 injuries in the territory, where living conditions are becoming more difficult by the day.
A succession of evacuation orders issued by Israeli forces has forced thousands of Palestinians into constant displacement, concentrated in ever smaller patches of land. “Overcrowding, severe water shortages and inadequate sanitation are fuelling the spread of disease. We are unable to cope with the sheer number of needs,” admitted a coordinator for MSF.
The international medical and humanitarian organization treats between 300 and 400 cases daily at the clinic in the Al-Mawasi area, of which 200 are related to infectious skin diseases that mainly affect children. It should be noted that, according to UNICEF, about 700,000 Palestinian children have already been forced to move several times due to the conflict in the Gaza Strip, becoming among the main victims of the war.
The attacks on Friday evening and early Saturday morning focused primarily on the western part of the Nuseirat refugee camp, where at least 17 Palestinians were killed. Four more people were killed in an explosion on the top floor of a building belonging to the Hamad family, and four more were killed in an attack on a house belonging to the Zakut family in the Al-Hasayna area. In the midst of the tragedy, there was a sign of hope: the World Health Organization launched a campaign to vaccinate 640,000 children against polio on Saturday.
Suspension of humanitarian aid
The UN reported that the number of Israeli refusals of humanitarian missions and transfers in the Gaza Strip doubled in August compared to July, in the context of a serious social crisis resulting from the ongoing military offensive. In northern Gaza, Israeli authorities rejected 68 requests from humanitarian agents, compared to 30 refusals in July, meaning that only 74 transfers could take place, or 37% of the total.
In the South, the number of vetoes rose from 53 to 99 in one month, according to a report by the UN Humanitarian Coordination Office. The organisation also noted that “attacks on humanitarian staff and missions increase the risk of restrictions on access and distribution of aid”, which was evident this week when a vehicle carrying a global food programme was targeted.
The agency suspended its staff travel “until further notice.” The Israeli army also acknowledged an attack on a convoy carrying humanitarian aid in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday, although it said the target was gunmen who seized control of one of the vehicles.
Author: Paulo Joao Santos
Source: CM Jornal
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