Qatar and France extends helping hand to Gaza amid crisis

Gaza received medicines for Israeli hostages and a consignment of relief supplies for Palestinians last week. The aid has been given under an agreement organized by Qatar and France. It is to be noted that UN humanitarians have warned the level of support for many Gazans is now ‘Almost catastrophic.’

The development comes at a time when the UN aid coordination office OCHA said in its latest update in the evening that “intense” Israeli bombardment of the occupied territory continues and rocket attacks on Israel are being carried out by Palestinian armed groups.

Rafah Strife

The ongoing violence has made it nearly impossible to distribute relief supplies beyond Rafah in the south of the Strip, where more than 1.2 million people are sheltering in dangerously overcrowded conditions under plastic sheets, according to the UN World Food Programme (WFP).

“Areas beyond Rafah, it’s almost catastrophic assistance”, stated WFP Communications Lead for the Middle East and North Africa, Abeer Atefa. 

According to the UN aid wing, the two additional missions coordinated with the Israeli authorities “could not be completed due to the non-viability of allocated routes or excessive delays at checkpoints, which did not allow the missions to succeed during the safe operating windows.”

In south Gaza, the population of Rafah has almost increased to 1.2 million + people. In middle areas, it has been noted that people are struggling for food and medicine and feeling cold & damp. 

Mounting Toll

If sources are to be believed, it is recorded that more than 160 Gazans died in the last week, and another 350 were injured due to ongoing bombardment and heavy clashes in Gaza. 

OCHA highlighted that over 24,400 Palestinians have been killed since the war started. Moreover, three Israeli soldiers were also killed in the war. 

It is to be noted that almost 191 Israeli fighters have died since October 7. The devastation caused by the war has now left “only one of the three water pipelines from Israel into Gaza” functioning, OCHA warned earlier this week. 

Additionally, with diarrhoea and other diseases already at record levels due to poor sanitation and hunger, the UN aid office said the Deir al Balah water pipeline – which has a capacity of about 17,000 cubic metres of water per day – needed urgent repairs.

“Water, hygiene, and sanitation (WASH) partners have estimated that repairs could take up to four weeks, even allowing for sustained access and the necessary supplies”, OCHA added.