Gaza (UNA/WAFA) – The Palestinian NGO Network has launched an urgent appeal to UN human rights and humanitarian organizations to intervene urgently to stop the humanitarian suffering in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement issued today, Sunday, the network called for immediate action to allow aid to enter and for trucks loaded with food and basic necessities to be allowed to enter the Gaza Strip immediately without delay, and for pressure to be exerted on the occupying state to stop its disregard for the lives of the people of the Strip, and its use of the aid card for political blackmail and to establish the occupation’s conditions for a ceasefire, which it violates daily in front of the guarantor parties.
She called for the urgent provision of tents to shelter vulnerable groups of women, children, the elderly, and displaced families, after the winds destroyed their tents. Initial estimates, according to specialized sources, indicate an immediate and urgent need for 500 tents, and a similar number as soon as possible.
She called for action to bring in aid and medical supplies, citing a World Health Organization report stating that more than 16 patients, including 4 children, need immediate evacuation, and that more than 900 patients have died due to not receiving the necessary medical treatment or delays in its arrival to them.
It called for pressure to be exerted on the occupying power and for it to allow the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) access to its warehouses, which are under full occupation control, in order to transfer blankets, mattresses, and supplies, and to immediately lift restrictions on access to them and enable agency staff to transfer them..
The network also warned of the catastrophic health situation due to the consumption of contaminated drinking water resulting from seawater mixing and high salinity in the water supply. This has led to outbreaks of hepatitis, meningitis, respiratory illnesses, gastrointestinal diseases, and cancer, necessitating immediate action to save patients from certain death and provide them with treatment..
She said: “The horrific scenes of helpless children, their thin faces trembling, without food, water, or shelter, are simultaneously a profound human cry for help, reflecting the unprecedented suffering endured by the residents of the Gaza Strip due to the occupation’s crimes over the past two years and during more than 17 years of a tight siege. This necessitates immediate and decisive international action to protect the Palestinian people and to exert concerted efforts to hold the occupation accountable for its crimes and impose international sanctions upon it. This is part of restoring the credibility of the international community and ensuring justice for the victims and redress for the harm done to them.” .
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