Israel’s intense bombardment of the Gaza Strip, one of the most densely populated areas in the world, has caused the deaths of 10,328 Palestinians, including 4,237 children, since the war began on October 7. More than 1,400 people were killed in Israel during the same period. .
Gaza’s health ministry said the number of injured people had risen to 25,965.
On October 9, the Israeli army announced a total blockade of the already besieged enclave, including a ban on water and food supplies. Two days later, he cut power and restricted the entry of aid and fuel.
An estimated 1.5 million people have been displaced, their condition made even more precarious by the lack of essential supplies.
Severe water shortage
Rights groups have been warning for years about the deteriorating water situation in the Gaza Strip. In 2021, the Global Institute for Water, Environment and Health and the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Observatory described Gaza’s water as “undrinkable”, with 97% of its water unclean to consumption.
Today, the lack of electricity means that desalination and wastewater treatment plants cannot operate, further compromising access to clean water.
On November 4, Israel destroyed a water reservoir in northern Gaza as well as a public water reservoir that supplied several neighborhoods in the south.
Many people drink polluted, salty water and wait in line for hours hoping to get clean water.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that between 50 and 100 liters of water are needed per person per day. figures the average daily allowance in Gaza at just three liters for all daily needs, including drinking and hygiene.
What is the impact of not drinking enough water?
A lack of water affects the body by first affecting the kidneys, then eventually the heart. Dehydration sets in quickly in children and can often be fatal. A person may experience dizziness and a racing pulse because the heart has to pump faster to maintain oxygen.
Water makes up about 60 percent of the human body. Dehydration can kill an infant in a stressful environment within hours, and a healthy adult within two to four days.
Is there enough to eat?
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says 80 percent of the Gaza Strip’s population was already food insecure before the October 7 attacks began. Nearly half of the population of 2.3 million people depended on food aid. of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
Before October 7, an average of around 500 trucks were allowed into Gaza each day.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), since October 21, at least 451 trucks have entered Gaza, 158 of which were carrying food, including canned fish, pasta, wheat flour, canned tomato paste and canned beans; 102 carried medical supplies; 44 had water or hygiene products; 32 non-food items transported; and eight had nutritional supplies.
The remaining trucks carried mixed cargo. Fuel supplies are still not allowed into Gaza, seriously affecting hospitals that are still functioning and endangering the lives of thousands of people.
The World Food Program (WFP) says food stocks in Gaza are running out, with just five days of supplies. For every person who received food assistance from WFP, at least six others are in need.
Bakeries that are still operational have to produce six times their normal capacity, with residents queuing for 4-6 hours to get loaves of bread, and also leaving themselves vulnerable to Israeli attacks.
Only one of the bakeries contracted by WFP and eight other bakeries in the southern and central areas provide bread to the shelters intermittently, depending on the availability of flour and fuel.
How does lack of nutrition harm a child?
Every human body needs a balanced, vitamin-enriched diet to maintain optimal functioning. In children, food deprivation may be felt more quickly, because their growth and brain development depend on the nutrition they receive.
According to the WHO, food deprivation or undernutrition in children leads to stunted growth, wasting and problems related to being underweight. Undernutrition prevents children from reaching their physical and cognitive potential and makes them much more vulnerable to disease and death.
Inadequate nutrition during pregnancy can also increase the risk of giving birth to a stunted infant.
Lack of access to healthcare
The WHO says women and children bear the burden of bombing of Gaza’s health facilities and lack of supplies. Women give birth wherever they can, without access to health facilities to give birth in a hygienic environment, and doctors must perform cesarean sections without anesthesia.
At least 180 women give birth every day. Maternal and neonatal deaths have increased due to lack of intensive care.
Overcrowded UNRWA shelters are reporting cases of acute respiratory infections, diarrhea and chicken pox. As facilities exceed capacity, people are now living on the streets. The WHO has reported at least 22,500 cases of acute respiratory infections and 12,000 cases of diarrhea, which can be fatal in children suffering from dehydration and lack of food.
Doctors had to use vinegar as a disinfectant – as well as screws and sewing needles for surgical procedures.
Vinegar from the corner store to treat bacterial Pseudomonas wound infections. We have come to this. pic.twitter.com/mEE4haHMyj
– Ghassan Abou Sitta (@GhassanAbuSitt1) October 19, 2023
Dr Ahmed Mokhallalati of al-Shifa Hospital says systems are collapsing and treatment in a sterile environment is limited: “Flies fill the hospital, you will see worms coming out of people’s wounds. »
Gaza’s only oncology hospital has been forced to close due to lack of fuel, and patients with critical needs like dialysis and infants requiring intensive care equipment are severely affected.
Since November 3, the main generators at al-Shifa Hospital and the Indonesian Hospital have no longer worked. Israeli warplanes continued to attack hospitals and the areas around them, where patients, health workers and hundreds of people fleeing the conflict have sought refuge.