2023-10-31 16:02:58
The World Health Organization said on Tuesday that Gaza faces an “imminent public health catastrophe,” with its growing population, mass displacement and damage to infrastructure.
The organization’s spokesman, Christian Lindmeier, warned of the risk of civilian deaths as an indirect result of the Israeli bombing.
“An imminent public health catastrophe looms with mass displacement, overcrowding and damage to water and sanitation infrastructure,” Lindmeier told reporters.
Gaza health authorities say more than 8,300 Palestinians have been killed since Israel began air strikes on the Hamas-run enclave in response to its October 7 attack, which Israel says killed 1,400 people and detained more than 200 others.
The Israeli army began its ground operations in Gaza last week.
Asked whether people were dying from complications other than those resulting from the bombing, Lindemeyer said: “They do die.”
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) spokesman James Elder warned of the risk of infant mortality due to drought rising with only 5 percent of regular water supplies available.
“Therefore, deaths of children, especially infants, due to dehydration pose an increasing threat,” he said, adding that children fall ill due to drinking salt water.
He added that regarding 940 children are missing in Gaza, and some of them are believed to be under the rubble.
He added that others suffer from shock or extreme stress, citing as an example the 4-year-old daughter of one of his colleagues at UNICEF, saying that she began harming herself by tearing out her hair and scratching her thighs until she bled.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement earlier Tuesday that water supplies to southern Gaza were halted on Monday for “unknown reasons.”
Lindmeier called for allowing fuel to be brought into Gaza to operate the desalination plant.
Israel imposes a blockade on the Gaza Strip and refuses to allow the entry of fuel supplies, saying that Hamas may use it for military purposes.
1698774163
#World #Health #Organization #sounds #alarm #Gaza.. #imminent #disaster
