The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has reported that two more colleagues were confirmed killed in the Gaza Strip, bringing the total number to 16 since 7 October beginning of Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In a Press Conference on Friday conveyed by UN Spokesperson, stated that UNRWA will continues to advocate at highest levels for sustained unhindered humanitarian access for much- needed supplies, including fuel, food, water and medicines, into Gaza.
Israel declared war on the Palestinian militant group Hamas after it carried out an unprecedented attack by air, sea and land on Saturday, October 07, 2023.
The large-scale surprise assault has left at least 900 dead in Israel, prompting a lethal volley of retaliatory Israeli airstrikes on Gaza that killed at least 687 people.
As they retreated into Gaza, the militants claimed to have taken at least 100 hostages with them and have threatened to kill them if airstrikes target Gaza without warning. Israel has pledged that Hamas will pay a heavy price.
The UN Spokesperson said UNRWA shelters, housing over half a million people, are overcrowded, especially in southern Gaza. “Some of the displaced have reportedly started returning to other areas.
“Meanwhile, in the West Bank (including in East Jerusalem), UNRWA staff continue to face severe access and movement restrictions, due to closures, checkpoints and roadblocks by the Israeli security forces.
“Our colleagues in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) tell us that in Gaza, air strikes continue with hundreds of people, including children, being trapped beneath the rubble, according to partners.
“Rescue teams, primarily from the Palestinian Civil Defense, are struggling to carry out their mission amid continuous air strikes, severe shortages of fuel to run vehicles and equipment, and with limited or no connection to mobile networks.
“Hospitals are on the brink and overcrowded with patients, with many awaiting treatment. We are concerned that 9,000 cancer patients lack adequate care because of conditions in Gaza’s only chemotherapy hospital.
“Gaza has now been under full electricity blackout for 10 days. Since 7 October, at least 30 per cent of all housing units in the Gaza Strip have been either destroyed, rendered uninhabitable, damaged, according to the Ministry of Housing in Gaza.
He pressed further that in an assessment issued by the UN-Women estimated that the eruption of violence and destruction has already resulted in close to 493,000 women and girls being displaced from their homes in Gaza.
“Additionally, the violence has tragically resulted in a growing number of widows, as an estimated 900 women have become the heads of households following their male partner’s death”, UN Spokesperson added.
