KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip - On the ninth day since Israel cut off electricity, fuel, and water supplies to besieged Gaza, with an Israeli ground offensive looming, Palestinians in the strip say shelters exist only in name, and lament the lack of basic services.
Israel’s relentless aerial campaign against Gaza has seen over 6,000 bombs dropped on the coastal enclave since the beginning of the conflict sparked by the surprise attack launched against Israel by the armed wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement on October 7.
As a result of Israeli airstrikes and a looming ground offensive which has forced thousands to flee, over half of Gaza’s population of two million has been displaced, according to reports by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
"The suffering that we endure at the schools is unprecedented and unlike anything out there. There is no food and no water. There is absolutely nothing. As you can see, the displaced are everywhere. They have reached a point where they prefer death over life, " Mohammed Abu Ruk, a displaced person from Gaza seeking refuge from airstrikes at a school, told Rudaw on Monday. He added that no services are provided by the relief agencies.
"We are going through a plight. This is a shelter only in name. There are no services here. We are subject to mass death there. There is no water, no food, not even a single basis of life," said Sharaf Shami, a displaced Gaza resident.
UNRWA’s situation report on Gaza and the West Bank from Monday states that “Despite the Israeli Forces’ evacuation order, an unknown number of IDPs [internally displaced persons] remain in UNRWA schools in Gaza city and the North. UNRWA is no longer able to assist or protect them.
Sozan Abu Obeid, Gaza resident, stressed international relief agencies’ lack of reach in the strip.
"Where are human rights? What crime have these innocent children who have taken refuge at this school committed ? There is no food, no medicine or water. Therefore we ask; where are the human rights organizations? We want our children to be treated like any other child out there in the world," said Abu Obeid.
UNRWA warns of a humanitarian catastrophe for displaced people who have taken refuge in schools due to their inability to access food, water, and medicine.
On Tuesday relief convoys that had been blocked on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, forced shut by Israeli airstrikes, headed towards the crossing, aid workers told AFP.
Over 4,000 people have been reported dead on both sides since Hamas militants launched a multi-pronged air, ground, and sea offensive and infiltrated Israeli territory resulting in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's declaration the following day that the country was "embarking on a long and difficult war."
The Israeli army has reported over 1,400 dead while Palestinian officials have placed their death toll at 2,778.
