Five days after the deadly attack launched by Hamas in Israel, more than 260,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in the Gaza Strip due to the Jewish state’s military response, estimates the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of the UN (Ocha). Among them, more than 175,000 have found refuge in United Nations schools. This is the largest population displacement “since the 50-day escalation (during) the hostilities of 2014,” specifies the organization.
“This number is expected to increase further,” warns the UN, while the Israeli government decreed on Monday the implementation of a complete siege of the Gaza Strip. “No electricity, no food, no gas (…). We fight animals and we act accordingly,” explained Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. 2.3 million people live in this strip of land 41 kilometers long and 6 to 12 kilometers deep, under Israeli blockade since 2007.
The prospects emerging for the population – 80% dependent on humanitarian aid – are catastrophic, warn associations and aid organizations. “The coming days are not going to be clean,” warned Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hecht, spokesperson for the Israeli army, in reference to the Israeli counter-offensive which will increase in intensity. “The images of destruction in Gaza are only the beginning,” declared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Since the Palestinian Islamist terrorist organization launched its offensive on Saturday October 7, more than 1,000 people have died, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. And 4,250 others were injured.
“We have never experienced such a situation in terms of intensity and scale,” assures Le Figaro Sarah Château, head of the Palestinian program for Médecins sans frontières (MSF). This morning, the bombings continue to hit very hard. Everyone is under pressure.” For the moment, “pharmacy stocks are not affected by shortages,” assures the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
But, adds Sarah Château, “staff from the Palestinian Ministry of Health tell us that hospitals are running out of narcotics”, necessary to relieve patients during operations. “Our stocks will be empty within two to three days if the bombings continue to be as intense and the injured remain as numerous,” she adds. On site, “humanitarians only partially carry out their mission,” assures Sarah Château. We cannot move, or very difficult, every movement is very risky.” The fear that hospitals will no longer be able to operate due to power cuts and that the care provided will be of lower quality is real.
In some shelters, access to water is “limited”, adds UNRWA. And the damage caused by the Israeli response to water supply and sanitation facilities “compromised the services provided to more than 400,000 people,” said Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary general. In a June 2022 report, Ochoa revealed that 78% of running water in Gaza is “unfit for human consumption”.
At the same time, there is no food crisis. This Wednesday, UNRWA estimates that “nearly half a million people (112,000 families) have not been able to obtain their food rations” since its distribution centers closed. In a statement, the World Food Program (WFP) said it was “deeply concerned” about the difficulties in accessing food products in areas affected by the fighting, while the Gaza Strip produces only 10% of what it produces. she eats. The WFP also fears stock shortages in food stores as well as the waste caused by the power cuts that the Jewish state announced two days ago – the Gaza Strip is 100% dependent on Israel for its electricity deliveries.
These cuts are not new. In 2022, Gaza residents only had electricity for twelve hours a day on average, reports the UN. Today, “the Gaza power plant is now the only source of electricity,” warns Stéphane Dujarric. However, it stopped this Wednesday at 2 p.m. after running out of fuel, announced the head of the Energy Authority of the Palestinian enclave, Jalal Ismaïl, in a press release.
Because it is fuel oil that allows the production of electricity – and de facto the operation of the water network. However, there is no longer any supply. Gasoline, too, will be in short supply: 91% of the oil and diesel used in the Gaza Strip comes from Egypt. The remaining 9% of Israel, according to the UN.
International medical NGOs therefore warned yesterday about the health situation and are calling for a humanitarian corridor. “Nothing beats a ceasefire. We must be able to secure some spaces to keep our colleagues safe and set up humanitarian corridors to allow the supply of medicines and food, reaffirms Sarah Château. We cannot suffocate the population.”
This Wednesday in Cairo, United Nations officials responsible for the Palestinians discussed ways to “ensure access for the Gaza Strip to services and humanitarian aid” with Egypt. The country holds, via the Rafah post, the only opening to the world of the Palestinian enclave which is not controlled by Israel. The crossing was bombed three times by the Israelis on Monday and Tuesday.