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With an end
to the intense fighting between Hamas and Fatah in the Gaza Strip, the area’s
residents now confront what could become a severe humanitarian crisis. The Strip is
one of the most densely populated areas in the world, with around 1.5 million
people living in 360 square kilometers. It has limited natural resources and
economic activity, and is almost completely dependent on outside food, medical,
and fuel supplies, which are largely imported from Israel. Israel,
the United States,
and the European Union (EU) refuse to give aid directly to the Hamas rulers,
and so organizations such as the United Nations Relief and World Agency
(UNRWA), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the World
Food Program (WFP) have been acting as intermediaries to coordinate aid
delivery.
With an end
to the intense fighting between Hamas and Fatah in the Gaza Strip, the area’s
residents now confront what could become a severe humanitarian crisis. The Strip is
one of the most densely populated areas in the world, with around 1.5 million
people living in 360 square kilometers. It has limited natural resources and
economic activity, and is almost completely dependent on outside food, medical,
and fuel supplies, which are largely imported from Israel. Israel,
the United States,
and the European Union (EU) refuse to give aid directly to the Hamas rulers,
and so organizations such as the United Nations Relief and World Agency
(UNRWA), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the World
Food Program (WFP) have been acting as intermediaries to coordinate aid
delivery.
Those
injured during the week of fighting are still being taken care of. According to
the ICRC, around 130 Gazans, both civilians and combatants, were killed and 630
injured during the clashes. The area’s hospitals are still overwhelmed by the
numbers of injured needing treatment, with staff staying on duty for as long as
three days and supplies running short. By 21 June, over 500 patients had
received treatment in hospitals, according to the ICRC. Eileen Daly, the ICRC's
medical coordinator for the West Bank and Gaza
said, “The staff at Shifa
Hospital have been
working around the clock since the fighting started. They have been nothing
short of heroic." The ICRC has helped coordinate the evacuation of 18
critically ill people to Israeli hospitals as of 21 June, and has identified 50
more that may need to be evacuated in the near future.
On 19 June,
nine trucks of food were delivered from Israel in coordination with the UN
World Food Program, and on 18 June, eight trucks of ICRC medical supplies were
delivered. Representatives from the US, EU, and Israel have all said that they
are willing to provide aid to Gaza, though want precautions to ensure that it
does not go towards aiding Hamas. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mark
Regev stated, "We will work together with the international community to
avert a humanitarian crisis." According to ICRC, delivery of gasoline and
fuel have resumed, and there have been no interruptions of the water and
electricity supply.
The UNRWA
returned to its normal level of operations on 18 June, after the violence
forced a shutdown of seven of its eighteen food distribution centers and three
of its five health centers on 12 June. Two UNRWA employees were killed by stray
gunfire on 13 June. The agency provides food and health services to around the one
million Gaza
residents who are refugees. UNRWA’s Gaza Director, John Ging, said during the
fighting, “The violence is compounding an already dreadful humanitarian
situation.”
Thus far,
the only people who have been able to leave the Gaza Strip into Israel are foreigners, some critically ill, and
employees of international organizations; Egypt also allowed in around 200
Fatah members. Some Gazans are petitioning Israel
to allow them passage to the West Bank, which had been one of the guarantees of
the Oslo accords, yet Israel has not responded.
Gaza residents are collecting food and
fuel reserves as much as possible, in fear that shipments will end. Christoph
Harnisch, head of the ICRC's delegation for Israel
and the occupied Palestinian territories explains, “The almost complete closure
of crossing points in and out of Gaza
and the lack of contact between the authorities on both sides is aggravating a
situation that cannot be dealt with by providing humanitarian assistance alone.
Long-term economic aid and commercial exchanges are the only sustainable ways
of helping the people of Gaza."
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