Jamal al-Khudari, Palestinian MP and head of the popular committee against the siege, raised in a statement on Tuesday alarm bells over the “tragic” state of affairs in Gaza, wrought by the 51-day-long Israeli offensive and the notorious seven-year siege.
Khudari attributed in a statement on Tuesday the crisis to the quasi-total breakdown in Gaza’s basic services, including power, water, and sewage network along with Israel’s destruction of civilian homes and its atrocious genocides against innocent children.
The situation forced hundreds of displaced and homeless families to seek refuge in relief shelters, where they have been disastrously devoid of their basic humanitarian needs.
Khudari drew attention to the exacerbating humanitarian crisis embodied in the unprecedented upsurge in unemployment, homelessness and poverty rates. More than 90% are currently living below the poverty line with an average per capita income of less than 2 dollars per day.
95% of Gaza’s water is unsuitable for human consumption. The sea has also become very contaminated as a daily sum of 40 million liters of untreated wastewater as sewage flows directly into the sea.
The infrastructure has also had more than its fair share of damage over the past few years, due to the tough blockade under which the Strip has been made to endure. As soon as Israel initiated its ferocious military campaign on Gaza, the situation has gone remarkably downhill.
Khudari raised concerns over the relapse wrought on Gaza’s environment as the soil has become unfertile for cultivation due to the heavy barrages of rocket fire and random shelling targeting Palestinians’ agricultural lands and crops.
Israel’s pre-planned targeting of Gaza’s power plant has deepened the humanitarian crisis in the besieged enclave.
Khudari called on the international community and humanitarian institutions, nationwide and overseas, to immediately step in and provide urgent assistance and solutions to work out the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, boost up the reconstruction process, and shelter the hundreds of homeless families.
He further hailed the relief institutions that have stood by Gazans and provided them with the urgent medical assistance both during the offensive and post-offensive phases.
