Gaza Strip/ Humanitarian situation, more than catastrophic

2024-09-07 09:17:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Gaza Strip/ Humanitarian situation, more than catastrophic

Illustrative photo

The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, according to the UN, continues to be "more than catastrophic". More than a million Palestinians have stopped receiving food rations through humanitarian channels since August, UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric noted in New York. As a result, the number of meals cooked per day compared to the month of July has decreased by 35 percent to 450,000. Dujarric attributed the shortage of supplies in part to frequent evacuation orders from the Israeli army. As a result, at least 70 of the 130 kitchens have been forced to either stop working or move it to other locations.

For the second month in a row, UN partners no longer have enough food reserves to meet the needs in the central and southern part of the Gaza Strip. As a reason for the critical lack of aid, Dujarric also mentioned damaged roads, access restrictions and the destruction of order in this region. The UN spokesman also drew attention to the fact that even eleven months after the war, international media representatives are still prohibited from traveling to the Gaza Strip to report on the consequences of the war.

Israel-Hamas war following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, which reportedly killed 1,205 people and took 251 hostages. According to the latest Israeli data, 97 hostages are still in the hands of Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups, 33 of them according to these data have died. In response to the Hamas attack, Israel has countered massively militarily against targets in the Gaza Strip. According to Hamas, over 40,800 people were killed during this period. These figures cannot be verified by independent sources. Hamas is classified by Israel, the US and the European Union as a terrorist organization.

"Close to" a ceasefire?

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Israel and Hamas to finally agree to a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. "From what I saw, this is almost 90 percent achieved," Blinken said, referring to the progress made in the talks. "It depends on both sides to finally say a Yes," he added during a press conference in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince. In the coming days, the US will make proposals through mediators to Qatar and Egypt, hoping for an agreement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed Blinken's assessment: "We are not close to an agreement," he said on US television, Fox News, referring to the possibility of a ceasefire agreement.

Baerbock: Don't fuel the spiral of violence

The German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, stated during a visit to Israel, that only the military strategy in the Gaza Strip does not solve the conflict. This has shown that such a strategy endangers even more the lives of the hostages left there, said Baerbock. Everything must be done to free the hostages. She said that she understands the security dilemma that Israel has, but solutions can be found for this. "A cease-fire is necessary," Baerbock stressed. Six of the kidnapped hostages were found dead last weekend.

Baerbock openly criticized the Israeli government's stance on West Jordan. Israel must react more "strongly and openly against acts of radical settler violence," Baerbock urged in a conversation with her Tel Aviv counterpart Israel Katz. "Whoever attacks people, drives them out of their homes or kills them, must be held accountable and punished severely." Israel must give up settlement expansion projects in West Jordan, these are "illegal", Baerbock emphasized./ DW