Aanchal Mishra
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Written By: Aanchal Mishra | Updated : September 2, 2024 7:35 PM IST
Over 40,000 Palestinians dead amid little food, medical supplies and A looming polio outbreak. (Image Courtesy: X/United Nations)
Gaza's health sector crumbles as Israel continues ground and air offensive in the Gaza strip. At least 35 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli attack in the past 24 hours, according to the Hamas controlled-Health Ministry of Gaza. So far 40,139 people have been killed since the war erupted last year in the aftermath of October 7 attack and abduction of Israeli hostages by the militant group Hamas.
Since then, there has been no end to the suffering of civilians on both sides. Israelis are still waiting for their family members taken hostages by Hamas who is pressingly bidding for a Palestinian prisoner's swap in exchange for Israeli hostages.
The brunt of this ongoing war is being borne by the Palestinians who are facing serious health crisis with lack of food, fuel, power plants, water shortage and a blocked humanitarian aid. The threatening polio outbreak is another setback for the already troubled and grieving Palestinians living in the ruins of Gaza.
Gaza is facing an acute food shortage since the war commenced. According to the previous reports by the United Nation, Palestinians were forced to sell clothes and other belonging to buy food. Children were reported to be eating animal fodder amid a looming threat of famine ever since Israel captured Rafah.
Experts around the world are worried and have expressed concern over the ever-increasing food and water shortage in Gaza as Israeli attacks make it a hindrance for the humanitarian agencies to conduct medical and food drives. Water treatment plants have also been severely damaged, making half of drinking water in Gaza unsafe.
The World Food Programme continues its humanitarian supply of food across the region. However, WFP has expressed concern over the acute food shortage and a lack of inconsistent food supply coming in the way. The humanitarian agency has urged for a 'steady flows of food supplies.'
Gaza is in desperate need of humanitarian aid blocked at multiple points in multiple ways. The Palestinians are facing a huge healthcare crisis amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. So far, more than 40,000 civilians have lost their lives with thousands injured. Hospitals and medical labs have been critically damaged making it worse for the medical fraternities to treat the injured.
We can hardly imagine the plight of the breastfeeding mothers, pregnant women, newly born children and injured kids taken to such wrecked hospitals for treatment which already face a lack of critical medicines. The Rafah border shut has deteriorated medical supplies from coming to people's help.
The United Nations and world leaders across the globe have repeatedly urged both the parties involved in the conflict to hold a ceasefire to make humanitarian operations possible and consistent. However, no Gaza truce deal has been signed by both Israel and Hamas yet.
The World Health Organization and UNICEF has jointly requested all parties involved in the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict for a ceasefire to conduct Polio vaccination drives in two rounds. The organizations have insisted on for humanitarian pauses without which successful polio vaccination drives in Gaza won't be possible.
The polio virus among children of Gaza was detected in July and experts are worried for a possible polio outburst in the war-torn region already grappling with a collapsing healthcare sector and increasing death toll.
The World Health Organization has planned to cover 95 per cent of the region to prevent the spread of polio and its 're-emergence' with over 1.6 million doses of polio vaccines.
In the recent developments, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meeting Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said that Israel has agreed on a US 'bridging proposal' for Gaza truce deal. Blinken will be next traveling to Egypt and Qatar to extend the ceasefire talks. This comes in the backdrop of Hamas announcing resumption of suicide bombings in Israel after taking responsibility of an unsuccessful suicide bombing on August 18 in Tel Aviv.
