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U.N. warns Gaza ceasefire gains are unraveling after days with no humanitarian access
Summary
U.N. spokesperson says lack of humanitarian access to Gaza for 11 days is worsening food, water, health, sanitation and education needs; many health facilities remain nonfunctional and crossings remain closed.
Humanitarian progress in Gaza following recent ceasefires is unraveling after 11 days with little or no humanitarian access, U.N. spokesperson Steph said during a U.N. press briefing Monday.
Steph said partners report growing shortages of food, water and medical services across the Gaza Strip. In North Gaza, she said only 16% of health service points are functioning either fully or partially — including three of five hospitals, six of about 50 medical points and four of more than two dozen primary health-care centers.
“Across the Gaza Strip, it’s becoming more difficult for people to have a decent and sufficient food, water, medical services, and other vital items,” Steph said. She added that efforts to restore health services are slow and that medical waste and debris contaminated with explosive hazards are creating public-health risks.
U.N. partners are working to move waste from about 70 makeshift dump sites into 30 temporary ones, but Steph said most of the temporary sites are already full and access to other sites nearer the border is urgently needed. She also noted warnings from partners about explosive hazards: “This year, three people have been killed and nearly 40 injured and 18 explosions recorded to date,” she said.
On education, Steph said partners have set up more than 200 temporary learning spaces since the start of the ceasefire, bringing 70,000 children into some form of learning. As of the day before the briefing, she said 60% of school-age children in Gaza had access to some form of education in schools or temporary spaces, but added that partners remain unable to bring in large tents, student kits and other required supplies.
When asked whether the education activity was led by UNRWA, Steph said UNRWA is the lead on education and that other partners are also involved. She said crossings that transport humanitarian cargo are closed at present and that efforts to reopen them involve contacts with Israeli and Egyptian authorities.
No formal decision or timeline on reopening crossings was announced at the briefing.
