THE UN has issued a fresh warning about the sanitary emergency facing citizens in Gaza and called for a mass polio vaccination campaign to get underway.
Last week, Israel ordered yet another mass evacuation in large areas around the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
With a lack of clean water already impacting populations in central Gaza, Unicef has issued a statement warning of the potential health impacts of untreated sewage being left to form large pools in the street.
Speaking from Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, Unicef spokesperson Salim Oweis said:
“With the lack of clean water, the destruction of the sanitation system, sewage treatment systems, children and families are still struggling, even more now with diseases such as diarrhoea, skin diseases, and most recently the polio that is detected in sewage water.”
A Gazan woman, Nehal, told the UN’s Children’s Fund that there wasn’t enough clean water or food to support her family.
“The situation here is horrible; this is not normal living,” she said.
“We don’t have clean water, enough food, or proper drinking water. We can’t even sleep properly like normal people do.
The hygiene conditions in Gaza are appalling and threatening children’s lives and health. UNICEF is on the ground providing clean water. But it’s not enough - more aid is required and a ceasefire is urgently, critically needed. pic.twitter.com/2DSuokOvzi
— UNICEF (@UNICEF) August 12, 2024
“This is not a life, as you can see with your own eyes. We are very exhausted.”
It is understood that approximately 75,000 people have been displaced by recent evacuation orders by Israel, with the military citing “significant terrorist activity and exploitation” in areas previously designated as “humanitarian zones”.
“There was one elderly man who was desperately trying to push his mobility scooter, which kept getting stuck in the sand,” said Louise Wateridge, UNRWA senior communications officer.
“He had very few belongings on the scooter.
“He is pushing it through this horrible sandy road and some young men kept coming to help him dig it out of the sand to continue pushing it.
“But you could just see the exhaustion and the struggle that he was going through.”
“These people, they've lost absolutely everything. They don't seem to be carrying much at all.
“Children were dragging empty water canisters because that's one of the most precious items.
“Now anything that you can put water in, it is one of your most precious valuables.
There were mattresses being carried, jerry cans and empty water cans and not much else, because people can only really carry what they can, in their hands.”
The World Health Organisation has also acknowledged that a mass polio vaccination campaign may be necessary in Gaza but added it would be difficult to rollout due to problems with getting humanitarian supplies and workers into the region.
The Israeli military said it has sent around 300,000 vaccines to be given to Palestinians in Gaza since October 7 and began vaccinating its own soldiers last month.
