UNITED NATIONS, Jan 09 (APP):: With no let-up in Israeli bombardments across Gaza, the UN health agency pleaded on Tuesday for better access across the enclave, where relief is arriving \u201ctoo little, too late\u201d to help civilians caught up in the ongoing conflict. \u201cEven if there is no ceasefire, you would expect humanitarian corridors to operate\u2026 in a much more sustained way than what\u2019s happening now,\u201d Dr Rik Peeperkorn, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) Representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said in a statement. \u201cIt\u2019s too little. It\u2019s too late and specifically in the north.\u201d<\/p>\n
Humanitarian assistance \u00ad and particularly food \u2013 is desperately needed across Gaza, particularly in northern areas, confirmed WHO Emergency Medical Teams Coordinator Sean Casey. \u201cThe food situation in the north is absolutely horrific, there\u2019s almost no food available,\u201d he told journalists in Geneva via video from Rafah in southern Gaza. \u201cEverybody we talk to begs for food and comes up and asks, Where, where\u2019s the food? People help us get our medical supplies through.<\/p>\n
But they are constantly telling us that we need to come back with food.\u201d Echoing that appeal and expressing concerns about intensifying hostilities in the south, Dr Peeperkorn explained that moving staff and supplies \u201csafely and swiftly\u201d had been compromised, \u201cas deconfliction is required for any moves across Gaza, including the south \u2013 often leading to delays\u201d. In addition to getting more essential supplies into Gaza, what was also needed urgently was easier movement of humanitarian aid and workers within the enclave, \u201cso that we can reach people wherever they are,\u201d Dr Peeperkorn explained. According to Gaza\u2019s Ministry of Health, 23,084 people have been killed in the enclave, 70 per cent were women and children. Nearly 59,000 people have also been injured, which is approximately 2.7 per cent of Gaza\u2019s population.<\/p>\n
The WHO official insisted that the UN and its partners remained \u201ccompletely ready\u201d to deliver assistance to Gazans, who have endured a massive bombing campaign by the Israel military. But hostilities and evacuation orders in Gaza\u2019s central areas and further south in Khan Younis have affected access to hospitals for patients and ambulances, Dr Peeperkorn explained, adding that it has also become \u201cincredibly complex\u201d for WHO to reach \u201cailing\u201d facilities with medical supplies and fuel. Of concern are three hospitals located near evacuation zones \u2013 European Gaza Hospital, Nasser Medical Complex and Al-Aqsa \u2013 \u201clifeline\u201d in the south for about two million people, the WHO official said, speaking from Jerusalem. \u201c(The) constricted flow of supplies and access and evacuation of medical staff from many hospitals due to fears for safety are a recipe for disaster and will make more hospitals non-functional, as witnessed in the north. The international community must not allow this to happen,\u201d Dr Peeperkorn said. One indication of the \u201cshrinking space\u201d for lifesaving humanitarian work in the enclave is the fact that the UN health agency has not reached northern Gaza for two weeks. A total of six planned WHO humanitarian missions have had to be cancelled since 26 December, according to the UN health agency. \u201cOur team is ready to deliver but we have not been able to receive the necessary permissions to proceed safely,\u201d Dr Peeperkorn added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 09 (APP):: With no let-up in Israeli bombardments across Gaza, the UN health agency pleaded on Tuesday for better access across the enclave, where relief is arriving \u201ctoo little, too late\u201d to help civilians caught up in the ongoing conflict. \u201cEven if […]<\/p>\n
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