The humanitarian catastrophe is incomprehensible.
Gaza is starving. The is not a droplet of formula for the 186 babies being born every day. 90% of Gazan children are eating one or less than one meal a day. There are no aneasthetics or hospitals to deliver those vulnerable pregnant mothers as the maternity hospital was destroyed. No resuscitation for the babies as all hospitals have been destroyed alongside patchy electricity to run the incubators.
Gaza is under total blockade for 105 days. Defence Minister of Israel, Yoav Gallant announced on 9th October: "We are putting a complete siege on Gaza … No electricity, no food, no water, no gas – it’s all closed. We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly” No water is allowed into Gaza. Gaza is surrounded by a coast and the population is dying of thirst. The three EU-funded desalination plants in Gaza have been bombed and destroyed confounded with no electricity to run those plants. No medication, no food, no supplies, no water to run hospitals and uphold one of the most basic humanitarian rights. The right to healthcare.
The only last standing hospital out of the 36 in Gaza partially functional has been intensively bombarded in the last 48 hours by an aerial and ground offensive. MSF teams at Al Nasser hospital state “ On 15th January there was an airstrike 150m at the entrance of the hospital that killed eight people and injured more than 80 people." Healthcare workers, the internally displaced seeking shelter and the injured have fleed in a panic with no other hospital to flee to. Thousands of vulnerable patients remain in the hospital with nowhere and no capability to flee. Volunteer healthcare workers remain on the ground with no supplies, no food no water. Empty shell of a hospital.
There is no hospital that is functioning in Gaza right now for the 2 million population.
Famine, hepatitis A outbreak, diarrhoeal illness due to no safe drinking water and no sanitation are rife. There are 400,000 case of infectious diseases.
We forget the chronically ill with pre-existing illnesses from a 16-year blockade. The urgency of the trauma cases have taken most of the column inches due to its intensity. However, there are approximately 10,000 cancer patients with no medication who will die in horrific preventable pain. 1000 patients with no electricity or clean water for dialysis. They will die. No insulin for the diabetic adults and children who will die slowly from their disease and with extreme thirst due to their highly sugary status. Approximately 500,000 mentally ill and vulnerable patients, some psychotic, prior to this war starting. They have no access to medication or treatment for their mental distress.
Statistics: Day 105
Last 24 hours: 168 Palestinians killed, 280 wounded
GAZA
Killed: over 24,448 - 9,600 children/ 6,750 women
Injured: over 61,504, 8,663 children/ 6,327 women - most of whom will likely die
Missing presumed dead under the rubble: more than 8,000
ISRAEL
Killed: 1,139 people
Injured: 8,730
70% of Gaza is rubble.
2 % of Gaza’s population and 1% of it’s children’s population have been killed in under 100 days. 5% of the population injured - many of whom will die from their injuries and lack healthcare. Many more with chronic diseases will die.
No school has been operational for Gaza's one million child population for over 100 days.
As of 5/1/24 - there has been 606 attacks on healthcare facilities.
374 healthcare workers killed in Gaza
121 ambulances destroyed. Only 5 remain active serving the entire population.
110 illegally detained healthcare workers ( no recent update I could find on releases)
Finally - The tragedy of this all is that less than 500m from the most concentrated man-induced famine in the world is tonnes and tonnes of aid, pain relief, personnel, food, water, clothes, formula and relief on standby, across the border denied access to the most vulnerable population on our entire planet right now.
Source: WHO, UN, MSF, UNICEF, Al Jazeera