07 November 2023
70% of the victims of the conflict are women and children.
According to the Ministry of Health of the Gaza Strip, over 10,000 people died in the enclave, and 4 out of 10 of them were children. More than 200 attacks on health care workers and facilities make help for the injured much more difficult. “Gaza is becoming a children's graveyard,” commented António Guterres, UN Secretary General. The life of every person staying there is threatened by both bombings and spreading diseases, lack of medicines, ambulances, medical assistance, water and food.
The latest installment of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict began with Hamas attacks, which resulted in the death of approximately 1,400 people and the kidnapping of 242 people. These are primarily citizens of Israel and foreign countries. The military actions of the Israeli army and the blockade of the Gaza Strip brought more victims, this time on the Palestinian side: the Ministry of Health of the Gaza Strip estimates that over 10,000 people have died in the enclave, and 4,100 of them are children. More than 2,000 people are also missing, most of them may be under the rubble of houses. According to WHO, 70% of victims on both sides of the conflict are women and children.
- WHO has already recorded over 100 attacks on health care workers and facilities - comments Małgorzata Olasińska-Chart from the Polish Medical Mission - This makes it difficult to help injured civilians. And the health situation will deteriorate: not only as a result of bombings, but also due to difficult access to clean water and food. Residents of Gaza will also be hit by the low temperatures that will come with the approaching winter.
More than 70% of clinics and 16 out of 35 hospitals in the Gaza Strip have ceased to function. Between October 21 and November 6, a total of 569 aid trucks passed through the border crossing with Egypt in Rafah. This is not even a drop in the ocean of needs: before the war, 500 trucks with supplies entered the Zone a day.
- We want to provide the victims of this conflict with the things they need most after leaving their homes: blankets, mattresses, warm clothes. The key to improving the humanitarian situation is now a ceasefire and full authorization of aid for civilians in Gaza, adds Małgorzata Olasińska-Chart. We hope that before the arrival of low temperatures, access to injured civilians will not be restricted by the authorities on either side of the conflict. We will provide assistance together with our long-term partner, the Terre des Hommes Italia organization and the Palestinian Medical Relief Society.