Palestinians are facing a “daily struggle to survive” amid Israel’s war and blockade of the enclave, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The ICRC issued the warning on Friday, adding to the international aid organizations’ urgent requests for a resolution that would require Israel to grant a ceasefire and the opening of humanitarian corridors in exchange for Hamas’s release of captives.
The Red Cross will not have access to the food, medicines, and life-saving supplies needed to support many of its programs in Gaza, the ICRC stated in a statement.
In the wake of bombardment that has displaced the majority, destroyed the enclave, and claimed the lives of more than 52, 000 Palestinians, Israel strictly controls all international aid that is needed for the 2.3 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Two weeks before the ceasefire, which had begun in January and lasted for roughly six weeks, was broken, Israel restricted access for aid deliveries to Gaza on March 2.
The ICRC warned that its humanitarian efforts in Gaza, including the distribution of food, “will only be able to go on for a few more weeks” if the blockade persists.
According to international humanitarian law, Israel is required to “use every means at its disposal” to meet the needs of Palestinian civilians under its control, it added.
According to Pascal Hundt, ICRC deputy chief of operations, “Civilians in Gaza are facing an overwhelming daily struggle to survive the dangers of hostilities, cope with relentless displacement, and endure the consequences of being deprived of urgent humanitarian assistance.”
“This situation must not be allowed to worsen,” he said.
The UN has repeatedly warned about humanitarian catastrophe as the blockade drags on. Famine is a possibility.
UNWRA’s head of UNWRA, Philippe Lazzarini, claimed on Friday that the Israeli siege in Gaza is collectively punishing all of its members.
Amjad Shawwa of the Palestinian NGOs Network made the warning in an interview with Al Jazeera that many children in Gaza are likely to die from malnutrition and that the situation is quickly getting worse for tens of thousands of children.
Israel continued to bombard the enclave on Friday. 22 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli airstrikes since dawn, according to medical sources, along with attacks on the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in northwest Gaza City and the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.
Source: Aljazeera
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