Gaza - New York: Europe and the Arabs
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that the Israeli military operation in and around Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City is still continuing for the fifth day in a row, in light of an intense exchange of fire with armed Palestinian groups. According to what was reported on the United Nations news bulletin website today, Saturday
Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, said that the organization and its partners have lost contact with hospital workers since the beginning of the raid. In a post on social media, Dr. Tedros stated that reaching Al-Shifa Hospital had become impossible.
A mission scheduled yesterday to the hospital was canceled due to insecurity. With reports of health workers being arrested and detained, Dr. Tedros warned that the ongoing situation could affect the hospital's ability to function, even minimally, and deprive patients of life-saving critical care.
The UN official stressed once again that hospitals are not battlefields and must be protected under international humanitarian law.
On his account on the X website, Dr. Tedros published a certificate from a doctor from Al-Shifa Hospital, which he sent to a United Nations employee, which stated the following:
50 health workers, most of them juniors or volunteers, and 143 patients have been kept in one building since the second day of the raid, with a very limited amount of food and water and only one non-functioning toilet.
Patients are in critical condition, many of them lying on the ground. Three patients needed intensive care. Two patients who were on life support died due to a power outage.
Patients do not have companions or caregivers with them,
There are no basic medical supplies, no dressing, no medicines,
Health workers requested urgent referrals for patients,
Sounds of hostilities could be heard in the vicinity of the hospital,
Health workers are concerned about their safety and the safety of their patients.
These conditions are completely inhumane, Dr. Tedros said. He called for an immediate end to the blockade, and appealed for safe access to the hospital to ensure patients get the care they need.
Water crisis
As the health situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate, UNICEF and its partners are providing fuel to produce clean water in addition to water loaded on trucks. They distribute water and hygiene tools to thousands of people, including children, in different areas of the Gaza Strip.
UNICEF warned of significant health risks to children, resulting from water shortages, hygiene challenges and inadequate sanitation services. UN Women highlighted the impact of severe water scarcity in Gaza on women who are forced to make difficult choices. Without enough water to shower, some women are forced to shave their hair to prevent head lice.
UN humanitarian partners reported that water production in Gaza fell last month to less than 6% of what it was before October.
In the same regard, the United Nations Office for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory confirmed that directing attacks against civilians who are not directly participating in hostilities violates the principle of discrimination and the right to life under international law and amounts to a war crime. He expressed his concern about the recent series of attacks that targeted aid warehouses, police officers and others who provided protection during the delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza.
In a statement issued on Friday, the office said that in the past week alone, at least three storage warehouses for humanitarian aid were targeted in Rafah on March 13, in Nuseirat on March 14, and in Jabalia on March 19, resulting in According to reports, there were casualties in these attacks.
He added that since the beginning of February, at least four senior police officials have been reported killed in different areas of Gaza, including the most recent killing of the Nuseirat Police Director on March 19.
The office stated that available information indicates that attacks on police vehicles or individuals providing protection for aid trucks have occurred in at least three other incidents since the beginning of February.
This comes after diplomatic sources reported yesterday, Friday, that the UN Security Council will vote, today, Saturday, on a draft resolution that clearly calls for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, after the Russian and Chinese veto of a draft American resolution that referred to a ceasefire.
The draft, which was prepared by several non-permanent members of the Security Council, will be voted on, according to what the sources said, as reported by the American Al-Hurra channel, yesterday.
This comes after Russia and China, on Friday, used their veto power in the UN Security Council against a US draft resolution supporting the call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, as Moscow considered it a “hypocritical play” as it does not put pressure on Israel.
The United States, which had previously vetoed calls for a ceasefire, proposed the draft resolution that would have for the first time upheld "the inevitability of an immediate and sustainable ceasefire" while condemning the October 7 attacks by Hamas.
The draft resolution received the support of 11 of the 15 members of the Council, while three countries: China, Russia, and Algeria rejected it.