As the Palestinian enclave is under complete siege, NGOs present on the ground warn of the “disastrous” and “catastrophic” situation. They fear an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
Dropper deliveries. About twenty trucks carrying humanitarian aid crossed the Egypt-Gaza border in Rafah on Wednesday, October 25. Since Sunday, fifteen to twenty heavy trucks have been passing through the only access point to the Palestinian enclave every day, over which Israel has imposed a “total siege” in retaliation for deadly attacks by Hamas. But these first deliveries are “a drop of help in an ocean of need,” complained Antonio Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations. And for good reason: This small area of 2.3 million people, impoverished by 15 years of Israeli blockade, is on the verge of collapse.
The nearly 80 trucks that have been able to enter the Gaza Strip so far “were not loaded with fuel,” notes Natalie Boucly, deputy commissioner general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). However, “the lack of heating oil is the biggest emergency, ahead of water and food,” she warns. Since the territory’s only power plant ceased operations, all activity in Gaza has been based on generators and fuel rationing.
UNRWA has “13,000 staff in the Gaza Strip,” including “5,000 who work every day to provide humanitarian assistance.” But “they will soon no longer be able to travel” because there is no fuel for their vehicles, fears Natalie Boucly. Without supplies, the UN agency estimates it will no longer be able to carry out its missions within “two to three days”.
Hospitals are on the verge of collapse
Fuel is “vital for the population,” adds Sarah Chateau, head of the Palestine program at Doctors Without Borders (MSF). “The Israeli army informs civilians about impending bomb attacks via SMS or WhatsApp,” she cites as an example. But without electricity and generators, people lose all ability to charge their cell phones and therefore know where and when to be. protected.”
The fuel shortage also has a “direct impact on health centers,” emphasizes Chiara Saccardi, head of operations for the NGO Action Against Hunger in the Middle East. On Tuesday, Gaza’s Health Ministry warned that generators in most hospitals would stop working within 48 hours due to a lack of gasoline to power them, Al-Jazeera reports. According to the World Health Organization, six hospitals in the enclave have already had to cease operations.
Patients receive dialysis at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip on October 24, 2023. (MUSTAFA HASSONA / ANADOLU / AFP)
“We need electricity for the equipment in intensive care units, operating rooms, dialysis…” says Sarah Chateau. According to the AP agency, doctors at Al-Aqsa Hospital fear that the incubators used to accommodate babies from the neonatal ward will be discontinued.
The situation is all the more critical because the health centers also lack medicines and equipment. “The Ministry of Health [gazaoui] “In addition, all the NGOs had stocks of medicines, but we were overwhelmed by the scale and intensity of the bombings,” testifies Sarah Chateau. At least 15,000 people were injured in the Israeli offensive.” Doctors Without Borders has already distributed all relief supplies to hospitals and clinics that are overwhelmed by the influx of patients.
“Hospitals are starting to run out of anesthesia and painkillers. This is catastrophic, we lack everything we need for war operations.”
Sarah Chateau, MSF program manager for Palestine
at franceinfo
The humanitarian manager therefore reports on a case in which a child was amputated without anesthesia, “only with sedation”. A doctor at Khan Yunis Hospital speaks of “patients”. [hurlant] “We fear that we will soon run out of medicines to treat chronic diseases such as high blood pressure or diabetes, which will lead to new emergencies,” emphasizes Sarah Chateau. UNWRA teams, for their part, identified shortages of “85 types of essential medicines, particularly insulin,” according to Natalie Boucly.
A critical shortage of drinking water
The lack of fuel also leads to a lack of water. Drilling and desalination plants, essential to residents’ daily lives, are no longer operational. “The Gaza Strip is also dependent on water imports from Israel, but all supplies are interrupted,” explains Chiara Saccardi. The first humanitarian aid trucks brought bottles, but only enough to meet the daily needs of 22,000 people.”
Residents queue for drinking water in Rafah (Gaza Strip), October 24, 2023. (MOHAMMED ABED / AFP)
Water, “like everything else in Gaza,” is rationed a little more every day, notes Chiara Saccardi. UNRWA “provides only one liter of water per person per day for drinking, eating and washing,” confirms Natalie Boucly. To quench their thirst, some Gazans resort to unsuitable sources.
“We are already receiving reports of diarrheal illness, a sign that people are drinking unsafe drinking water, or that people are drinking salty or contaminated water.”
Chiara Saccardi, Middle East operations director for Action Against Hunger
at franceinfo
In addition to the lack of drinking water, there is a lack of sanitation facilities in the places where internally displaced people are housed. “More than a million people have had to leave the north of the Gaza Strip, 600,000 of them are accommodated in our premises: schools, health centers, training centers, offices… explains the UNRWA Deputy Commissioner General. Our crisis plan was based on hosting 150,000 civilians, so our premises are not suitable. For example, we have housed 8,000 displaced people in one of our buildings with only two toilets available.”
This promiscuity leads to significant health risks, which are compounded by the lack of water to meet hygienic needs. “We could experience scabies or cholera epidemics that we cannot treat,” fears Chiara Saccardi. Action Against Hunger, like UNRWA, aims to improve the living conditions of displaced people by “organizing the cleaning of certain camps.” But the situation remains “catastrophic,” she regrets.
Inadequate international aid
The aid provided so far does not meet the food needs of a population subjected to a siege lasting more than two weeks, which comes on top of the blockade imposed by Israel since 2007. “The first deliveries contain canned goods, but also products such as lentils or rice. We can’t cook them without water,” emphasizes Natalie Boucly. Without fuel, water and electricity, it is impossible for bakeries to make bread from the flour provided to them by UNRWA.
A truck carrying humanitarian aid arrives at a UNRWA camp in Deir Al Balah, Gaza Strip, on October 21, 2023. (ASHRAF AMRA / ANADOLU / AFP)
Action Against Hunger is “ready to send basic supplies to the Gaza Strip as quickly as possible.” But “the process is far too slow at the moment,” warns Chiara Saccardi. “Between Sunday and Tuesday, 54 trucks entered the Gaza Strip. Before October 7th, there were up to 500 trucks of humanitarian aid per day to supply the population in the Gaza Strip,” recalls Natalie Boucly.
Currently, international aid continues to accumulate in Egypt. Emmanuel Macron announced on Wednesday the deployment of a military ship to “support hospitals” in Gaza and the arrival of a plane loaded with medical equipment. Like the UN and many other NGOs, Chiara Saccardi is therefore calling for access to this aid to be expanded to the Palestinian enclave. Because time is running out, says the ACF manager. “The already scarce resources of the Gaza Strip are almost exhausted.”