Care for the Sick and Wounded in Gaza Strip increasingly difficult
The already challenging provision of care for the sick and wounded in Gaza, according to UN estimates, is reportedly becoming even more complicated due to new displacements by the Israeli military. Humanitarian institutions would have to close and leave the people to their fate, wrote the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
At the beginning of the week, Israel called on the residents of a area in Hanun Leqia to evacuate. According to OCHA estimates, 150,000 people fled from their makeshift homes before Israeli military advanced. "Many were seen on the move with no personal belongings," OCHA reported. In the area, there had been four medical facilities, eight kitchens and distribution centers for food, but all except one communal kitchen had to close.
According to Israeli reports, Israeli forces were attacked in the zone.
Only 16 of the 36 hospitals in Gaza can work, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), and only four of ten field hospitals are fully operational, while four are restricted.
A polio virus responsible for paralysis in children was discovered in sewage. Thousands of people fell ill with diarrhea and skin diseases due to the unhygienic conditions with few toilets and insufficient drinking water. Dust from the destroyed buildings triggers respiratory infections.
The displacement has placed an additional strain on the UN-Information's efforts to provide aid, as they struggle to assist the increasing number of sick and wounded in the Gaza Strip. Despite the UN-Provision of a communal kitchen remaining operational, many displaced individuals are now without access to food and medical care due to the closure of several facilities.
