UN Warns Humanitarian Situation In South Gaza To Worsen Quickly

Children in Gaza queue for clean water. (Twitter/@UNRWA)

JAKARTA - United Nations agencies (UN) warned that the humanitarian situation in southern Gaza was rapidly deteriorating, as people jostled in very crowded areas along the coast, in the midst of hot summer.

Conflicts and law violations in the region have made it "almost impossible" for the World Food Program (WFP) and its partners to meet soaring demand, the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs Coordination (OCHA) said in its latest report Wednesday.

There is also a critical lack of milk and formula for infants and nutritional supplements for pregnant and lactating children and women, OCHA said.

"Many households report eating only once a day, with a few meals once every two or three days, mostly depending on bread, sharing meals with other families and rationing stock," he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Director of WFP Carl, who spent two days in Gaza this month, said, "the situation in southern Gaza is rapidly deteriorating."

"One million people have been evicted from Rafah and trapped in a very dense area along the coast in the midst of the summer heat. We drive through the rivers of waste," he explained.

More than a million people have been forced out of the southern city of Rafah since Israel began land operations there on May 7, the United Nations said.

An estimated 60,000 to 75,000 people are still in the Al Mawasi area in Rafah and 750 people in Rafah City until May 17. Gazans who fled live in overcrowded shelters and emergency tents that desperately need repairs and do not provide any protection from extreme heat, he said.

It is known, since the latest Hamas-Israeli conflict broke out in Gaza on October 7, 2023, around 37,396 Palestinians have been killed and 85,523 others injured, quoted from WAFA.

Most of the victims were children and women. Many of the victims are still under the rubble and on the streets, with rescue and rescue teams unable to reach them.