Hamas, Israel attacks described as “Bone-chilling”

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“Bone-chilling” is how the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths has described the scale and speed of what’s unfolding in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel.

In aftermath of the brazen, multi-pronged attack by Hamas on Israel in which more than 1 000 people were killed, Israel has responded by pulverizing the Gaza Strip with airstrikes, a tiny enclave that is home to more than two million Palestinians.

Blocked from leaving the area due to a siege imposed by Israel and a single border crossing with Egypt closed indefinitely, almost 200 000 Palestinians are packed into UN shelters as already desperate conditions deteriorate rapidly with no supplies of electricity, water, food and fuel able to enter the area.

The Gaza Strip has been under a land, air and sea blockade since 2007 following a Hamas takeover of the region leaving few options for Palestinians who live there.

The UN says 63% of people in Gaza are food insecure and dependent on international assistance, while more than 80% of the population lives in poverty; overall unemployment at 46%, youth unemployment at more than 62%.

Israel-Hamas | Update from Tel Aviv

The economy and its capacity to create jobs has been decimated, impacting essential services particularly health, water and sanitation.

And as bombs rain down on the region, already desperate humanitarian conditions are quickly becoming catastrophic.

The World Food Programme has launched an emergency operation to provide critical food assistance to over 800 000 people in Gaza and the West Bank.

Palestine Country Director Samer Abdeljaber says, “The situation is devastating. We are on the ground doing everything we can to be sure the people in need, the ones who fled their homes, the ones living in shelter, are getting the food and help they need to survive. Today, we set out to reach 180 000 together with UNWRA that are residing on shelters with ready to eat food including fresh bread from bakeries that are still able to operate in Gaza. We will be rolling out our assistance through electronic vouchers so people can buy food from shops that are still operating. We are doing everything we can but very soon the food supplies and basic needs in Gaza are going to run out.”

The UN says 14 of its facilities have sustained damage due to Israeli airstrikes, with officials calling for the laws of war to be upheld; for those Israeli’s held captive in Gaza to be treated humanely and released without delay and for civilians and civilian infrastructure to be respected – as several neighbourhoods, already lie in ruin.

Communications Director for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, Juliette Touma says, “We have at least 14 UN facilities that have sustained damage due to the airstrikes that have been taking place since the morning of the 7th of October. Our headquarters received collateral damage this morning due to heavy airstrikes in the neighbourhoods nearby. It happened while some of our staff were taking cover in the same compound in another building next door, and very luckily, we did not record any casualties. Another UN facility, a school sheltering the display, has been directly hit a few days ago. And overall, we are hosting some 170 000 people in over 80 schools and other facilities across the Gaza Strip. These are families who have fled the shelling and the bombardment.”

And with a large-scale ground assault on Gaza a growing expectation, street battles are likely to make a bad situation worse… as appeals from some quarters in the international community have little impact on the current dynamics.

South Africa’s Minister of International Relations Dr Naledi Pandor says, “We’ve called on the global community and particularly the United Nations, to be more robust in supporting a movement toward a peaceful resolution of the conflict that has existed for over seven decades between Israel and Palestine. We know that for many years the people of Palestine have been under occupation, have suffered a great deal of injustice and have had a strong desire for freedom. We also know that the people of Israel wish for security, and we would hope that the people of Israel will call more and more for a peaceful settlement between these two brotherly people and work toward a peaceful outcome that gives effect to the United Nations resolutions on this matter.”

As civilians on both sides pay the high price of an unprecedented escalation, and as the death toll mounts, so does the pain, grief, anger and despair of so many.