Unprecedented Humanitarian Catastrophe

Source: Churches For Middle East Peace

Written October 15th, 2023 in Gaza City; Revised for publication January 8th, 2024.

Today is the 93rd day of the war on Gaza, The Gaza Strip is experiencing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, the likes of which had not been seen since 1967. 25,000 have lost their lives, and this is solely those who arrived at the hospitals. This is what arrived at the hospitals. There are thousands of people who were buried under the rubble and no one could reach them. In addition to more than 60,000 injuries, most of these are in critical situations, which means they will lose their lives due to the no heath treatment as most of the health facilities were destroyed.

The unprecedented destruction of infrastructure has made life a living hell open to everyone, it is the harshest on women, children, and the disabled. There were 8,000 wounded in hospitals within the first week, close to the number of wounded during the 51-day war in 2014. This exceeds the capacity of the most advanced health systems in the world, let alone a fragile health system that has been suffering for years from a shortage of medicines and equipment. Medical teams are no longer able to work. The army orders for 1.1 million residents of the Gaza Strip to evacuate their homes and flee to the southern regions, while at the same time bombing the cars carrying them, contradicting humanity.

The decision to impose a complete siege on Gaza, cut off electricity, stop fuel, and prevent infant formula and medicines threaten to turn the whole Gaza Strip into a real grave. It is impossible for two million people to live in less than a third of Gaza's area. Not allowing humanitarian aid or a humanitarian truce that allows people to catch their breath represents in itself unbearable suffering for the population. Anyone who does not die in the raids will die of hunger and thirst. What is required is a 48-hour humanitarian truce now, before tomorrow, in which people can get their needs. The most important thing is a ceasefire to prevent further loss of life and prevent more suffering of the hell which opened its doors wide in the past 93 days.

I was very lucky enough to exit Gaza in mid-October to Cairo, but I can't reach my sisters, brothers, or friends due to poor communication and the absence of an internet connection.

Omar Shaban, Palthink for Strategic Studies, Gaza