Jeremy Stoner, Save the Children director, says the situation in northern Gaza is not fit for human survival and yet there are about 130,000 children under 10 trapped in those conditions, not to mention the thousands of older children and their families.
Since 6 October, when Israeli forces launched a siege on northern Gaza, the area has been cut off from supplies of food, water and medicine.
Stoner points out that humanitarian aid to Gaza has hit an all-time low with the appalling situation in northern Gaza the tip of a terrible iceberg.
He calls for safe humanitarian access to be granted immediately to allow food, water, winter supplies and medical assistance to reach those who are trapped in the death zone in the north.
Families fleeing from besieged areas of northern Gaza are leaving homes and shelters with just the shirts on their backs, Louise Wateridge, Senior Emergency Coordinator for UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, told UN News on Saturday.
Speaking from an UNRWA school in Gaza City, which is in the north of the Strip, Ms. Wateridge said that, for almost 50 days, UN humanitarian missions have attempted to deliver supplies to northern Gaza, including besieged areas such as Jabalia, but access to those in desperate need has been extremely limited.
Louise Wateridge: I have heard absolutely horrific stories today, speaking to families who fled Jabalia for their lives. They say there was just nothing left. It was absolutely flattened. There was death around them. They ran out of food. They had no access to water.
They reached UNRWA schools like this one, searching for safety but, days after arriving, airstrikes which killed many of the people sheltering here. And we’ve seen six such incidents on UN school shelters.
Since this siege began, we have had this horrible situation where people are forced to flee for their lives from the besieged north; they come to Gaza City looking for safety, but the danger just keeps following them. Death and destruction are their shadows.
Louise Wateridge: As far as the eye can see, every building is damaged and destroyed. You might see a stairwell riddled with bullet holes, or an exposed living room hanging out of a third-floor apartment, signs that there was once life here.
Around 300,000 people are now in Gaza City and it’s just rubble. That’s why people are forced to shelter in these UN facilities, because there is just nowhere else to go.
With winter coming, people are trying to find some kind of cover and safety, and protect themselves from the elements. They need tarpaulins, tents and shelter. They don’t have blankets or mattresses. They are just out in the in the open.
UN News
Louise Wateridge, UNRWA Spokesperson (middle) following the administering of polio vaccination in UNRWA’s Deir El Balah health center.
UN News: How difficult is it to get aid in?
Louise Wateridge: For almost 50 days, access to besieged areas of north Gaza has either been denied or impeded. People have no access to food or water. We’ve heard people say they drank water from puddles to survive.
The eight UNRWA water wells in Jabalia are all damaged and destroyed. The hospitals have been hit on multiple occasions, and all of the UNRWA health clinics are out of medication.
Many humanitarian workers have been injured and killed themselves since the start of this war. Are they still at risk?
Louise Wateridge: Yes, every day. There is absolutely nowhere safe in Gaza.
247 UNRWA colleagues have been killed in this war.
Time and time again, day in and day out, our colleagues and their families are being injured and killed.
Every day my team and I wake up, the first thing we do is text each other to make sure everybody made it through another night.
For some weeks, we have had colleagues scattered across the Gaza Strip. Sometimes you lose contact with each other for days, if not weeks on end, and we don’t know how they are.
Sometimes we find out our colleagues have been killed and we haven’t known for a few days. Sometimes they come back online. It’s desperate.
Multiple United Nation convoys have been shot at. I was in a convoy in July that was shot at delivering supplies to northern Gaza.
It’s becoming more dangerous and more difficult for humanitarians to do their jobs by the day.
The Government Media Office in Gaza stated that the Israeli army is committing systematic attacks on the healthcare sector. It revealed that more than 1,000 doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel were killed since the start of Israel’s genocide.
In a press statement, the office described Israel’s war crimes, targeting hospitals, clinics, and healthcare workers. It further reported that over 310 healthcare workers have been detained by Israeli forces, with many subjected to torture and extrajudicial execution.
The blockade also continues to prevent the entry of essential medical supplies and specialist personnel, exacerbating the healthcare crisis.
Besieged Hospitals in Gaza
The statement highlighted that Israel’s military campaign in northern Gaza has focused on systematically dismantling the region’s healthcare system.
Hospitals have been bombed, healthcare workers targeted, and medical facilities rendered inoperable. The report specifically singled out Kamal Adwan Hospital, which has faced continuous shelling, aerial bombardments, and direct attacks on its staff.
Recent incidents include the bombing of medical staff such as Dr. Nihad Ghuneim, Dr. Saeed Joudeh, and Dr. Omar Al-Hawajri. A particularly egregious attack targeted Dr. Hussam Abu Safiyya, the hospital’s director, who was injured when an explosive device was dropped on him as he exited an operating room.
“These deliberate assaults aim to cripple Gaza’s healthcare system entirely,” the statement read, calling for urgent international intervention.
The Government Media Office condemned the Israeli army’s crimes in the strongest terms, stating that they violate international humanitarian laws that protect medical personnel and facilities.
The statement also criticized the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and France for their political and military support for Israel, holding them complicit in the genocidal war crimes.
The office appealed to the international community, human rights organizations, and global health bodies to pressure Israel to cease its systematic targeting of healthcare infrastructure. “The silence of the international community is enabling the collapse of international law,” it warned.
As the genocide continues, Gaza’s death toll exceeds 55,000, with over 104,000 injured. Entire families have been wiped out, leaving thousands of survivors with no access to essential medical care. The office warned that the ongoing attacks, combined with the international community’s inaction, threaten to undermine the global legal framework meant to protect civilians.
The statement concluded with an urgent plea: “We call on the international community to hold Israel accountable for its war crimes and stop the systematic targeting of healthcare in Gaza. Failure to act will mark the collapse of humanitarian law and set a dangerous precedent for future conflicts,” according to the Quds News Network.
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