(Reuters) - The World Health Organization said on Tuesday it remains unable to distribute fuel or life-saving health supplies to major hospitals in northern Gaza due to a lack of security guarantees.
The WHO called for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire so health supplies and fuel can be delivered safely throughout the Gaza Strip".
On day 17 of the Gaza-Israel crisis, UN humanitarians on Tuesday pleaded for desperately needed fuel deliveries and other relief items to prevent the already dire situation in the enclave from worsening further.
Doctors have been performing surgeries without anaesthesia or other basic surgical supplies, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said in an update, noting that fuel has become the “most vital commodity” in Gaza.
Without it, “trucks can’t move and generators can’t produce electricity for hospitals, bakeries and water desalination plants,” said Tamara Alrifai, spokesperson for the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA).
To date, fuel has been absent from the aid convoys allowed in so far.
“We are on our knees asking for sustained, scaled up, protected humanitarian operations”, UN health agency (WHO) Emergencies Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Region Dr. Rick Brennan said.
Briefing reporters from Cairo, he appealed “to all those in a situation to make a decision or influence decision makers, to give us the humanitarian space to address this human catastrophe”.
Outbreaks ‘just a matter of time’
WHO’s Dr. Brennan highlighted the dire consequences of a lack of access to clean water, compounded by overcrowding. Between one and three litres per person per day were available in Gaza while the absolute minimum was 15 litres, he said.
People were being pushed to consume contaminated water and the spread of infectious diseases was “just a matter of time”.
Dr Brennan also said that WHO was working with UNRWA to establish a system of disease surveillance with daily reports. The most common infectious diseases were respiratory tract infections and diarrhoea, but chicken pox and skin infections like scabies and head lice were also to be expected.
Health facilities overwhelmed
WHO highlighted the extreme gravity of the health situation in the Gaza Strip under Israeli bombardment for over two weeks.
One in three hospitals and two in three clinics were not functioning, and health facilities and workers were overwhelmed with a massive load of trauma cases, many of them complex injuries due to explosions. Dr Brennan cited the example of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, which had 1.5 patients for each bed.
With 1.4 million displaced people across the territory, overcrowding was a major challenge to the health system.
“I’ve been working in humanitarian assistance for 30 years and can’t remember that number of people displaced over such a short period of time,” Dr Brennan said.
Lives on the line Dr. Brennan stressed however that even once supplies get across the border, delivery to hospitals is compromised not only because of the lack of fuel, but also due to the “huge security risks” to UN personnel and partners trying to bring aid to hospitals in an active war zone.
UNRWA’s Ms. Alrifai recalled that the agency was mourning the loss of 35 staff so far, most of whom were themselves displaced and were working inside the agency’s shelters and facilities to assist the 400,000 or so people who have sought safety there.
A total of 40 UNRWA installations have been damaged since 7 October.
Asked about accountability for the deaths and destruction, Ms. Alrifai reiterated the importance of respecting the principles of international humanitarian law in wartime.
“Whatever happened to our colleagues and our buildings is unacceptable – no matter who did it,” she said.