The war in Gaza has left a staggering almost 23 millions tonnes
of rubble and unexploded weapons scattered across the enclave, UN
humanitarians said on Friday.
In a fresh alert about the disastrous humanitarian emergency
still unfolding in the enclave, the UN agency for Palestinians,
UNRWA, said on Friday that
it will “take years” before the Strip is made
safe again
The lives of more than two million Gazans have been
devastated by daily Israeli bombardment, since Hamas-led
terror attacks in Israel on 7 October, the UN agency noted in a
post on X, formerly Twitter.
As the largest relief agency in Gaza, UNWRA continues to provide
lifesaving supplies and services to more than 1.5 million
displaced people in the south of the enclave. The agency runs
shelters for more than one million people, providing them with
humanitarian relief and primary healthcare.
No let-up in violence
Lifesaving humanitarian work has continued amid intense Israeli
bombardment and ground operations – as well as heavy fighting
between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups.
In its latest update on the emergency, the UN aid coordination
office, OCHA, reported ongoing
violence “across much of the Gaza Strip, particularly in the
Hamad area of Khan Younis…The hostilities are causing
further civilian casualties, displacement and destruction of
houses and other civilian infrastructure.”
OCHA noted that mine action partners are now carrying out
“assessments of explosive threats” and educating Gazans about the
dangers.
“Larger-scale assessments are urgently required, but response
efforts have been hampered by restrictions on the import of
humanitarian mine action supplies and authorization requirements
for the deployment of specialized personnel.”
Funding boost
The news came as Australia became the latest country to
announce that it intended to resume funding UNRWA, which
saw international donor support evaporate, amid Israeli
allegations that some of the agency’s staff had participated in
the 7 October Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel.
A high-level UN investigation continues into the claims, which
UNRWA is also complementing with its own inquiry. Shortly after
the allegations were made public, nine UNRWA staff were
dismissed.
Seaborne aid contribution
Meanwhile, efforts to secure a new maritime aid route from Cyprus
to Gaza continued on Friday as the NGO ship Open Arms
moved closer to the Gaza coastline.
The vessel, which open-source satellites showed moored off the
coast of Gaza City in the north of the enclave on Friday morning,
left Larnaca in southern Cyprus on Tuesday with 200 tonnes of
relief supplies. These are to be delivered ashore once a jetty is
built south of Gaza City, according to reports.
The initiative involves UN-partner World Central Kitchen and the
search-and-rescue charity Open Arms, reportedly in coordination
with the Israeli authorities and international partners.
