Situation in Gaza is “catastrophic”, say multiple UN, humanitarian organizations

The United Nations and other international humanitarian organizations have described the situation in Gaza as "catastrophic." "The humanitarian situation in Gaza is catastrophic, and it is among the worst we have witnessed and will likely only get worse as hostilities continue. The large majority of the civilian population is in desperate need of humanitarian assistance and protection," multiple UN and humanitarian organizations and agencies around the world said Wednesday in a joint statement on Gaza's humanitarian situation. According to the statement, over 1.8 million people in Gaza, or nearly 80 percent of the population, are estimated to be internally displaced. The majority of them are sheltering in over-congested UNRWA facilities across Gaza, with extremely poor access to hygiene facilities. All of Gaza's 2.3 million inhabitants lack sufficient food and clean water and face malnutrition." "Given the extent of damage to civilian infrastructure in Gaza, including health facilities, water, and sanitat ion, the risk of disease outbreaks is very high. The disruption of vaccination activities, as well as the lack of medicines for treating communicable diseases, further increase the risk of an accelerated spread of infectious diseases," the statement elaborated. "We, the undersigned, met during the Aqaba Process Informal Meeting on Coordinating Gaza Emergency Relief, held in Amman in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on November 30, 2023, and had frank discussions on the gaps and challenges in the current response and certain mechanisms, systems, and restrictions in place that are hampering relief efforts," the statement said. "As humanitarian actors, neutrality and impartiality are defining principles of our work. Our guiding objective is to alleviate human suffering. No effort is being spared by all humanitarian organisations and agencies engaged in the ongoing relief response; however, the current scale of assistance amounts to only a fraction of the escalating needs," the statement noted. "First and forem ost, we call for an end to the hostilities to prevent further human suffering. Until such time, the scale and scope of humanitarian aid must be dramatically expanded and sustained," the statement added. Source: Jordan News Agency