Red Cross calls for unhindered aid access to Gaza
The Red Cross on January 8th has urged for unhindered and safe aid access to Gaza, the conflict torn Palestinian territory deeply affected by hunger and where babies have been freezing to death, The New Arab and agencies report.Â
Flooding and heavy rainfall have severely damaged the makeshift shelters in Gaza, causing thousands to have up to 30cm (one foot) of water inside their tents, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).Â
According to the IFRC the extreme weather conditions were “exacerbating the unbearable conditions” in Gaza. The IFRC also said that a lot of families were “clinging on to survival in makeshift camps, without even the most basic necessities, such as blankets.”
In reference to the United Nations, the IFRC underscored the deaths of eight newborn babies who were living in tents without warmth or protection from rainfall and dropping temperatures.Â
IFRC Secretary-General, Jagan Chapagain, said in a statement that the deaths “underscore the critical severity of the humanitarian crisis there.”
Chapagain also said: “I urgently reiterate my call to grant safe and unhindered access to humanitarians to let them provide life-saving assistance.”Â
“Without safe access — children will freeze to death. Without safe access — families will starve. Without safe access — humanitarian workers can’t save lives.”
According to the United Nations, over 330 humanitarian workers have been killed in Gaza since Israel started its war there on October 7th 2023.Â
Chapagain issued an “urgent plea to all the parties… to put an end to this human suffering. Now.”
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The IFRC said that The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) had been trying to give emergency health services and supplies to the people of Gaza, with greater sense of urgency in the cold winter months.Â
But the IFRC also said that “the lack of aid deliveries and access is making providing adequate support all but impossible.”
The IFRC mentioned that the closing of the main Rafah border crossing in May 2024 had a severe effect on the humanitarian situation.Â
“Only a trickle of aid is currently entering Gaza,” the IFRC said.Â
The Doctors Without Borders (MSF) charity stressed that access to healthcare had become “seriously compromised” in areas of the West Bank. The charity was also seeing “a dramatic decline in children’s mental health.”
In a statement, the charity pointed to the extreme increase in restrictions enforced by Israeli forces since the beginning of the war in Gaza.Â
It particularly underscored the circumstances of the Jaber neighbourhood inside the H2 area of Hebron city. The city is under complete control of the Israeli military.Â
MSF said it was made to stop its operations for five months from December 2023 and called for Israeli forces to “stop implementing restrictive measures that impede the ability of Palestinians to access basic services, including medical care.”
Chloe Janssen, MSF project coordinator, said that “although we are now able to provide care in the MSF clinic in Jaber neighbourhood access remains challenging as our staff can be searched and delayed at the checkpoints to enter the H2 area.”
“Access to medical care should never be arbitrarily denied, impeded or blocked.”
Matthew Miller, a spokesperson from the State Department, said on November 4th 2024 that Israel has not made enough effort to provide aid for Gaza, Arab News via Reuters reported.
Louise Walteridge, Senior Communications Officer at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), said on June 30th 2024 that it is “nearly impossible” to deliver Humanitarian aid in Gaza as a result of restrictions from Israeli authorities, according to The New Arab and agencies.
The New Arab and agencies, Arab News and agencies.
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