{"id":283225,"date":"2024-12-23T12:00:40","date_gmt":"2024-12-23T12:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=283225"},"modified":"2024-12-21T06:17:03","modified_gmt":"2024-12-21T06:17:03","slug":"dying-hungry-and-in-pain-an-increasingly-likely-outcome-in-gaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2024\/12\/dying-hungry-and-in-pain-an-increasingly-likely-outcome-in-gaza\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Dying Hungry and in Pain\u2019: an Increasingly Likely Outcome in Gaza"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

A person walks through a destroyed neighborhood in Gaza, Dec 2024.\u00a0 \u00a9 WFP\/Jonathan Dumont<\/p><\/div>\n

19 Dec 2024 – The head of the UN aid coordination office in Gaza, Georgios Petropoulos, issued a harrowing update on the dire situation in the enclave on today, describing it as “the most dangerous place on earth right now.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Speaking to correspondents via video link today, the senior OCHA<\/a> official underscored the grim reality facing over two million people trapped in Gaza<\/em>, where basic necessities like food, shelter, and safety have become scarce.<\/p>\n

\u201cDying hungry and in pain\u201d is an increasingly likely outcome for children, mothers, aid workers, and teachers alike, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re there to support [the people] who for more than 14 months have struggled to stay alive,\u201d Mr. Petropoulos explained. \u201cBut we’re not allowed to do our jobs<\/em>,\u201d he emphasised.<\/p>\n

Humanitarian operations under siege<\/strong><\/h2>\n

OCHA has been striving to deliver food, healthcare, and safe drinking water to Gaza\u2019s besieged population, but fuel shortages and blocked access routes have exacerbated the crisis.<\/p>\n

When we raise these things with Israeli authorities, they reject virtually every single practical solution that we table.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Moreover, these efforts have been opposed by what Mr. Petropoulos referred to as \u201cblanket prohibitions\u201d from Israeli authorities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we raise these things with Israeli authorities, they reject virtually every single practical solution that we table,\u201d<\/em> Mr. Petropoulos said, adding that \u201cthe aid system has been weaponised.\u201d<\/p>\n

He further revealed that aid delivery often becomes a race against time, with insufficient supplies to meet the growing needs of the population.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs an aid worker in Gaza, you’re forced to make horrible decisions<\/em>,\u201d he described. \u201cShould I let people die of starvation or of the cold? Do we bring in more food to ease hunger or more plastic sheets for some shelter from the rain at night?\u201d, he illustrated.<\/p>\n

North Gaza: Mass displacement and destruction<\/strong><\/h2>\n

North Gaza, under near-total siege for 75 days<\/em>, has become a site of intensified military operations.<\/p>\n

Mr. Petropoulos described chilling reports of mass casualties, the destruction of entire communities, and forced displacements under bombardment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Israeli corridor bisecting the strip, has been fortified to such a degree that it’s not really a corridor anymore,\u201d he said, noting that 150 requests for humanitarian access have been denied since October.<\/p>\n

Even when supplies manage to reach shelters or hospitals, they are\u00a0often destroyed in subsequent attacks.<\/a><\/p>\n

A call on Member States<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Mr. Petropoulos called on Member States to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law and to ensure the protection of civilians.<\/p>\n

He emphasised the need for a ceasefire and immediate, complete humanitarian access.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to get to people wherever they are,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need to prove the impact of this response based on how people are doing and not the numbers of trucks<\/em>,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The UN has consistently warned of the escalating humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, with UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres<\/a> urging all parties to respect the principles of international humanitarian law and facilitate aid delivery to those in need.<\/p>\n

As the crisis intensifies, the UN\u2019s humanitarian system in Gaza faces its greatest test yet, operating \u201chand to mouth\u201d with little reserves left.<\/p>\n

Go to Original – news.un.org<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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DON’T BUY<\/b><\/span><\/span> PRODUCTS WHOSE<\/b><\/span><\/span> BARCODE<\/b><\/span><\/span> STARTS WITH<\/b><\/span><\/span> 729<\/b><\/span><\/span>, which indicates that it is produced in Israel. <\/span>DO YOUR PART! MAKE A DIFFERENCE!<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

7 2 9:<\/b><\/span><\/span> BOYCOTT FOR JUSTICE! <\/b><\/span><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

19 Dec 2024 – The head of the UN aid coordination office in Gaza, Georgios Petropoulos, issued a harrowing update on the dire situation in the enclave today, describing it as “the most dangerous place on earth right now.”\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":283226,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[3287,1161,417,554,1854,101,100,87,865,487,88,767,2571,427,880,99,124,70,965,481,886],"class_list":["post-283225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-united-nations","tag-anti-zionism","tag-arms-industry","tag-bullying","tag-children","tag-crimes-against-humanity","tag-cultural-violence","tag-direct-violence","tag-gaza","tag-genocide","tag-human-rights","tag-israel","tag-middle-east","tag-official-lies-and-narratives","tag-palestine","tag-state-terrorism","tag-structural-violence","tag-united-nations","tag-usa","tag-war-crimes","tag-warfare","tag-zionism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=283225"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283225\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":283230,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283225\/revisions\/283230"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/283226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=283225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=283225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}