The Humanitarian Crisis In Gaza Is Getting Worse, The United Nations Calls Israel Continues To Refuse To Provide Access To Entry Assistance

The photo archive - A number of trucks queue to transport humanitarian aid goods to Palestinians in the Egyptian region, Monday (6/11/2023). (ANTARA PHOTO/Muhammad Adimaja/aww.)

JAKARTA - United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the Israeli military had refused to provide access so humanitarian aid deliveries could not enter the Gaza Strip.

"Our humanitarian committee reports that Israel prohibits imports of essential equipment, including communication tools, which seriously jeopardizes safe and effective aid operations anywhere in Gaza," Stephane Dujarric told reporters, Friday, January 19, as reported by ANTARA, Saturday, January 20.

"In the north (Gaza), our partners and we are trying to increase the delivery of humanitarian aid, but the rejection of access by the Israeli military prevents that," he said.

Sebanyak tujuh dari 29 misi yang direncanakan dalam dua pekan pertama di Januari dapat sepenuhnya atau sebagian dijalankan, lanjutnya.

Regarding the availability of water for drinking and daily use in Gaza, Dujarric said the water capacity is decreasing every day.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported as many as 152,000 cases of diarrhea, more than half of which occur in children under the age of five, resulting in the inability to carry out water chlorineation to kill bacteria exacerbating this alarming situation.

"The lack of toilets and sanitation services to cook people defecating in the open air increases concerns about disease outbreaks. Routine routine vaccination activities are disrupted, as well as the lack of medicines to treat infectious diseases, increasing the risk of disease spread," Dujarric said.

Regarding a meeting between senior Russian diplomats and Hamas representatives in the Moscow capital, Dujarric said the United Nations supported discussions that would lead to a humanitarian ceasefire, and the release of unconditional hostages.

"We are not involved in this discussion, but we understand that there are diplomatic discussions that take place in several different places... There needs to be dialogue between interested parties. We only hope that whatever the discussion is, it will have a positive impact on the Gaza people and the Israeli people," Dujarric said.

Israel has launched non-stop air and landstrikes in the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas that Tel Aviv says killed 1,200 people.

At least 24,762 Palestinians were killed, mostly women and children, and 62,108 injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

From PPB data, Israeli attacks have left 85 percent of Gaza's population displaced amid food shortages, clean water and medicines, while 60 percent of infrastructure in the enclave is damaged or destroyed.