UN Warns North Gaza in ‘Apocalyptic’ Conditions, Everyone Facing ‘Imminent Risk’ of Death
The circumstances in northern Gaza are described as “apocalyptic” as Israel carries out a military campaign against Hamas militants in the region, a warning from top United Nations officials indicates.
“The entire Palestinian population in North Gaza faces an imminent threat of death due to disease, famine, and violence,” the officials stated in a declaration co-signed by the acting UN aid chief Joyce Msuya, directors of various UN agencies such as UNICEF and the World Food Programme, along with other humanitarian organizations.
Israel initiated a significant military operation in northern Gaza last month. The United States has indicated that it is monitoring the situation to ensure that its ally’s actions do not imply a “policy of starvation” in the northern regions.
“Humanitarian aid struggles to meet the extensive needs due to accessibility issues. Essential, life-saving supplies are increasingly unavailable. Humanitarian workers face dangers in their efforts and are impeded by Israeli forces and security concerns from reaching those in need,” they remarked.
Israel’s mission to the UN in New York chose not to comment on the statement. Last month, Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon informed the Security Council that the issue in Gaza was not related to a lack of aid, claiming that over a million tons had been delivered in the past year. He accused Hamas of manipulating the aid efforts.
Hamas has consistently rejected Israeli accusations of aid theft and asserts that Israel is responsible for the shortages.
On Monday, the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service reported that approximately 100,000 individuals were stranded in Jabalia, Beit Lahiya, and Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza without access to medical care or food supplies. Reuters could not independently verify this figure.
USAID Administrator Samantha Power held discussions with Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Michael Herzog, as a deadline imposed by Washington approaches for Israel to improve the situation, or potentially face restrictions on US military assistance.
Power and Herzog “discussed the urgency of delivering more assistance to the Palestinian population,” said USAID spokesperson Benjamin Suarato, who added: “Administrator Power expressed serious concerns regarding the humanitarian conditions in northern Gaza.”
This situation unfolds as medical professionals in Gaza report that around 64 individuals lost their lives and dozens more were wounded during Israeli strikes last night and into this morning, targeting the city of Deir Al-Balah, the Nuseirat camp, and the town of Al-Zawayda, located in the central and southern regions of Gaza.
According to medics at the Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat, fourteen individuals were killed by an Israeli strike at the entrance of a school sheltering displaced Palestinians.
Additionally, medics reported that ten people were killed in a vehicle in Khan Younis, situated in the southern part of Gaza.
Intensive Israeli assaults are still ongoing in the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza City.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has announced that the much-needed second round of child polio vaccinations in northern Gaza will finally commence tomorrow, after initial efforts were interrupted by Israeli bombings.
The announcement allowing the final phase of polio vaccination to proceed followed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s call for Israel to ensure a swift completion of the campaign.
The vaccination initiative began on 1 September after the besieged Palestinian territory reported its first polio case in 25 years.
The first round of immunizations was completed throughout Gaza, with the second round—crucial for enhancing immunity—initiated as scheduled on 14 October, starting in central Gaza and then moving south, facilitated by temporary humanitarian pauses in the conflict.
However, the WHO delayed the final four-day phase in the north, originally scheduled to start on 23 October, due to “intense bombardment” making the conditions on the ground “impractical”.
Israel launched a significant air and ground offensive in northern Gaza last month, citing a desire to prevent Hamas militants from re-establishing themselves in the area.
The final phase of vaccinations was postponed following ‘intense bombardment’ in Gaza (File image).
119,000 children left awaiting vaccination.
“Polio vaccination in northern Gaza is set to resume tomorrow,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced on X.
“We have assurances of the necessary humanitarian pause in Gaza City to carry out the campaign.”
“Regrettably, the area covered is significantly reduced compared to the first round of vaccinations, which will leave some children unprotected and at an increased risk of infection.”
In its initial rationale for delaying vaccinations in the north, the UN health agency mentioned that the area permitted for humanitarian pauses had been limited solely to Gaza City, leading to many children potentially missing their second doses.
This could “seriously undermine efforts to halt the transmission of poliovirus in Gaza,” the agency warned. Approximately 119,000 children in the north are awaiting their second dose, while 452,000 have received vaccinations in central and southern Gaza.
#Polio vaccination in northern #Gaza is set to resume tomorrow. We have secured the necessary humanitarian pause in Gaza City to conduct the campaign. Unfortunately, the area covered is substantially reduced compared to the first round of vaccination, which will leave some…
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) November 1, 2024
The WHO asserts that a minimum of two separate doses of the oral vaccine are required to interrupt the transmission of poliovirus, necessitating that 90% of all children under ten in a given community are vaccinated.
Typically transmitted through sewage and contaminated water, poliovirus is highly contagious.
It can cause disabilities and paralysis and is potentially lethal, primarily affecting children aged five and under.
Search and rescue operations were conducted in central Gaza following an Israeli military attack.
Hospital strikes result in malnutrition.
The Israeli military has accused Hamas of using Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia for military purposes, claiming “dozens of terrorists” have been hiding there.
Health officials and Hamas have denied these allegations.
The health ministry in Gaza has called on all international bodies “to safeguard hospitals and medical personnel from the brutality of the (Israeli) occupation.”
WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris indicated that “due to the attacks,” the hospital’s malnutrition stabilization center has been closed, leaving no such facility operational in the north.
“Prior to this closure, we had been witnessing a steady increase in the number of children with severe acute malnutrition requiring treatment month after month,” she conveyed during a media briefing.
“We have not observed any food aid entering north Gaza since 2 October. People are running out of coping mechanisms. Food systems have collapsed, and the capacity to support those in the most critical condition is no longer present,” she stated.
“Over 86% of the population across Gaza are experiencing heightened levels of food insecurity.
“It’s always the children who face the hardest consequences.”
Medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported that one of its doctors at the hospital, Mohammed Obeid, was detained by Israeli forces last Saturday.
MSF has called for the protection of him and all medical personnel who “are enduring horrific violence as they attempt to provide care.”
The conflict in Gaza escalated following a Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, resulting in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people and the abduction of 251 hostages to Gaza, according to Israeli figures.
Israel’s ensuing offensive on Gaza has claimed the lives of over 43,000 Palestinians and reduced a significant portion of the enclave to ruins, according to Palestinian authorities.
