“Between 65,000 and 75,000 people are estimated to remain in the besieged north Gaza.”
Israel has denied 82 out of 91 attempts by the UN to deliver aid to the besieged northern Gaza Strip between October 6 and November 25, the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said on Thursday.
It also impeded nine other requests for life-saving humanitarian assistance to reach three specific areas in the territory which has been under Israeli bombardment and a military siege for close to two months.
Out of the 91 attempts the @UN has made to deliver aid to besieged north #Gaza between 6 October and 25 November, 82 have been denied and 9 impeded.
The conditions for survival are diminishing for the 65,000-75,000 people estimated to remain there.#CeasefireNow pic.twitter.com/s4QiSFfOqO
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) November 28, 2024
“Between 65,000 and 75,000 people are estimated to remain in the besieged north Gaza,” the agency said in a statement, adding that for “over 50 days, they have been facing diminishing conditions for survival.”
Jabalia, Beit Lahia, and Beit Hanoun have been largely cut off from humanitarian aid for weeks, UNRWA emphasized.
Winter Rains
In the past three days, said the agency, there has been heavy rain and temperatures have dropped.
UNRWA warned that thousands of families who fled the besieged areas “are now sheltering in the cold and rain without blankets, mattresses and waterproof shelters.”
“The situation is beyond miserable,” it stressed.
Elsewhere in the enclave, heavy rains have caused flooding in makeshift camps where thousands have taken shelter.
“Many children have no shoes or warm clothes. The needs are desperate,” said UNRWA.
The agency also posted pictures of hundreds of people, including women and children, lining up for hours “just to get one meal” in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza.
“Without immediate intervention, severe food shortages are set to worsen, further endangering the lives of people who already depend on humanitarian aid to survive,” said UNRWA.
Staggering Death Toll
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
AL-JAZEERA: Five Palestinians were killed and others were injured in an Israeli bombardment that targeted a house north of the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip. pic.twitter.com/7zFIZW36Vz
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) November 28, 2024
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 44,282 Palestinians have, to date, been killed, and 104,880 wounded.
Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
Acute Famine
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
Hundreds of people, including children and women, line up for hours just to get one meal in Deir al-Balah, in the central #Gaza Strip.
Without immediate intervention, severe food shortages are set to worsen, further endangering the lives of people who already depend on… pic.twitter.com/Ec3UXicIxk
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) November 27, 2024
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
