UNRWA warns Gazans may die from disease if they survive bombing

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
3 Dec 2023 23:42
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UNRWA warns that the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip could fall victim to diseases as a result of the ongoing massacre in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Palestinians take shelter in a UN-run school from the ongoing Israeli occupation aggression against the besieged Gaza Strip in Nuseirat Refugee Camp on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023. Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023. (AP)

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, considering the dire situation they are subjected to, could either be killed by indiscriminate Israeli bombing or from diseases that are roaming widely across the Strip.

This warning was issued by UNRWA, as it experiences, firsthand, the situation on the ground.

"Gaza’s population will soon begin dying from diseases as well as Israeli bombardment," said the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in a post on X as it expressed concern about the increasing risk of diseases in the besieged Gaza Strip.

As a result of the ongoing Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip, UNRWA warned that "people have lost everything and they need everything," stressing that "over 15,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza - including over 6,000 children and 4,000 women - since the war began."

Over 15,000 Palestinians have been killed in📍#Gaza - including over 6,000 children and 4,000 women - since the war began.

People have lost everything and they need everything.

Gaza’s population will soon begin dying from diseases as well as Israeli bombardment. pic.twitter.com/nt6vebmdri
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) December 3, 2023

This comes as on December 2, Thomas White, the director of UNRWA affairs in Gaza, issued a warning about the escalating Hepatitis A outbreak in the region, emphasizing the overwhelming challenges faced by UNRWA schools-turned-shelters due to the extensive displacement in the southern areas.

"At one of our schools, we've now had an outbreak of Hepatitis A," he said.

In an interview for the BBC, White acknowledged the significant difficulties in maintaining sanitation within the shelters, where people are densely packed into classrooms, with an average of 150 individuals sharing a single bathroom.

He tersely stated, "The risk of the disease is very present in Gaza at the present time."

"At one of our schools, we've now had an outbreak of Hepatitis A"@TomWhiteGaza informs @BBCNews that the risk of disease in📍#Gaza is very present as our schools - set up to shelter 1,500 people - are averaging over 6,000 people sheltering in the south. pic.twitter.com/tu4DqMuv1h
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) December 1, 2023

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Director of UNRWA Affairs in Gaza emphasized that the prevalent risk of disease in Gaza is heightened by the fact that UNRWA schools, initially designed to accommodate 1,500 people, are currently hosting over 6,000 individuals in the southern region.

This comes after the World Health Organization (WHO) also warned, earlier last month, of the increasing risk of disease spread across the Strip, stating that "the situation is particularly concerning for almost 1.5 million displaced people across Gaza, especially those living in severely overcrowded shelters with poor access to hygiene facilities and safe water, increasing the risk of infectious diseases transmission."