{"id":248395,"date":"2023-11-20T12:00:43","date_gmt":"2023-11-20T12:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=248395"},"modified":"2023-11-15T05:40:04","modified_gmt":"2023-11-15T05:40:04","slug":"besieged-gaza-hospital-horror-continues-fuel-supplies-now-exhausted-as-rainfall-prompts-new-health-scare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2023\/11\/besieged-gaza-hospital-horror-continues-fuel-supplies-now-exhausted-as-rainfall-prompts-new-health-scare\/","title":{"rendered":"Besieged Gaza Hospital Horror Continues: Fuel Supplies Now Exhausted as Rainfall Prompts New Health Scare"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Al Shifa hospital continues to shelter displaced families in Gaza City. \u00a9 WHO<\/p><\/div>\n

14 Nov 2023 – UN health agency <\/em><\/span>WHO<\/span><\/a> hailed today the \u201cheroic efforts\u201d of staff at Gaza City\u2019s besieged Al-Shifa hospital and expressed concern for hundreds of thousands of displaced people in the enclave where heavy rainfall has caused flooding and aggravated the already dire health crisis. In <\/span>a statement<\/span><\/a> issued later in the day, the UN Palestine refugee agency (UNRWA) chief said that fuel stocks were now exhausted, bringing the aid operation to a halt on the Egyptian border.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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In a statement<\/a> issued by his Spokesperson, UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres<\/a> said he was “deeply disturbed<\/strong> by the horrible situation and dramatic loss of life” reported in Gaza’s medical facilities.<\/p>\n

“In the name of humanity, the Secretary-General calls for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire<\/strong>“, the statement reiterated.<\/p>\n

Suffering exacerbated<\/h2>\n

\u201cRain will just add further to the suffering\u201d of people in the Strip, WHO<\/a> spokesperson Margaret Harris told reporters earlier in Geneva, at a time when disruptions in sewage pumping and water shortages have caused a spike\u00a0in waterborne diseases and bacterial infections.<\/p>\n

The World Health Organization warned last week that since mid-October, over 33,500 cases of diarrhoea have been reported, mostly among children under five, some 16 times the monthly average.<\/p>\n

Facilities run by the UN agency for Palestine refugees,\u00a0UNRWA<\/a>, where over 580,000 displaced people in southern Gaza had sought shelter due to Israel\u2019s offensive in retaliation for Hamas\u2019 deadly 7 October attacks, are more than nine times over capacity and the overcrowding is posing further health risks.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are begging for a ceasefire to happen now,\u201d Dr. Harris insisted.<\/p>\n

Fuel depot ‘now empty’<\/h2>\n

In a statement late on Monday<\/a>, the UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini, said that the humanitarian response was “gradually coming to an end because no fuel has been allowed into the Gaza Strip since 7 October.”<\/p>\n

Since the seige of Gaza began UNRWA has heavily rationed the use of fuel and accessed pre-existing, limited amounts stored in a depot inside the Gaza Strip, through close coordination with Israeli Authorities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe depot is now empty”, the UNRWA chief said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is very simple. Without fuel, the humanitarian operation in Gaza is coming to an end. Many more people will suffer and will likely die.\u00a0It is unbelievable that humanitarian agencies have to beg for fuel and operate on life support”, he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince the beginning of the war, fuel has been used as a weapon of war and this should stop immediately.”<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 WHO<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Heavy rain in the Gaza Strip could lead to an increase in diseases.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Hostages\u2019 families in Geneva<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Meanwhile in Geneva, the families of some of the 238 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza since 7 October were due to continue their advocacy for the release of their loved ones on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

A meeting was announced between hostages\u2019 families and Mirjana Spoljaric, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), a UN humanitarian partner organisation.<\/p>\n

In a statement, the ICRC said that Ms. Spoljaric would also meet with the Israeli authorities and that the organisation has been \u201cpersistently advocating on behalf of the hostages held in Gaza, including directly with Hamas and with actors who may have influence on the parties\u201d.<\/p>\n

Health workers \u2018doing whatever they can\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n

WHO\u2019s Dr. Harris described in detail the dire situation at Al-Shifa hospital, which is a focus of operations by the Israeli Defense Forces which claim that Hamas had established a command centre under the hospital \u2013 an allegation denied by medical staff.<\/p>\n

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Tens of thousands more people have been forced to move on foot from north to south\ud83d\udccd#Gaza<\/a><\/p>\n

"For many Palestinians, this exodus is reminiscent of the original displacement of more than 700,000 people from their towns and villages in 1948, also known as the Nakba" @UNLazzarini<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/AkZKoWOj8n<\/a><\/p>\n

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) November 14, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n