“The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza continues”alerted Tamara Alrifai, spokesperson for the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees (Unrwa), guest of franceinfo on Sunday October 20, while the international community is focusing on the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon in recent weeks. But meanwhile, Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip continues. On Saturday, one of them killed at least 73 people in Beit Lahiya, in the north of the Palestinian territory.
franceinfo. The eyes of the world are focused on Lebanon. Don’t you fear that the situation of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip will be partly obscured by what the Lebanese are also experiencing?
Tamara Alrifai : It’s possible, because this weekend in Gaza was catastrophic with Israeli strikes, particularly on northern Gaza. This is the area that has been sealed off, completely fenced off, since the last wave of military operations began. Indeed, eyes are more on Lebanon at the moment, but the humanitarian disaster in Gaza continues, as do the violent bombings and strikes, notably on two hospitals this weekend and on an UNRWA shelter. These strikes affect us directly.
Is humanitarian aid continuing to reach the Gaza Strip?
Humanitarian aid continues to arrive only in trickles. This last month, there have been around sixty trucks of all-inclusive humanitarian aid (food, water, medicine, mattresses, blankets, etc.), but nothing is arriving in northern Gaza. Part of the territory has really been fenced off since October 1. We really fear a risk of famine for the entire Gazan population, we are talking about 2 million people.
How many humanitarian aid trucks are needed?
According to humanitarian experts, including us at UNRWA, a minimum of 500 trucks of humanitarian aid are needed every day for the Gaza Strip. This is the minimum to keep the population alive. What we see now is a trickle of humanitarian aid, which goes completely against humanitarian standards.
What do you need first?
Food, clean water, medical equipment… But we are also approaching winter now. So we need tents, mattresses, blankets and winter clothes. In fact, we need a ceasefire and we need a flow of humanitarian aid and also commercial goods that can reach the Gaza Strip to help the population survive.
“We keep reminding that, according to international humanitarian law, it is not possible to completely close a territory like that and prevent humanitarian aid from arriving there.”
Tamara Alrifai, speaker of UNRWAat franceinfo
Are there any medical facilities still functioning in the north of the Gaza Strip? ?
All medical facilities in Gaza are partially or not functioning at all. Hospitals in Gaza have all been hit. We are talking about more than 500 strikes on hospital and medical infrastructure. We are talking about a collapse of the public health system. That said, UNRWA, the United Nations’ largest humanitarian agency, continues to operate mobile medical teams and ten dispensaries. We recently managed to administer the polio vaccine! Because after 25 years of eradication, the virus reappeared in Gaza because of the lack of hygiene, the catastrophic health situation and the overcrowding in the shelters.
What about American aid, we have talked in recent months about the humanitarian bridge set up by the United States. Do you still receive American aid?
We do not receive American aid. We see the air bridges, we saw the sea bridge. But why invent new roads when land routes exist? The easiest way would be to open land routes, which is the most direct and economical way to send humanitarian aid. But the Israeli government continues to keep most access points closed. We therefore call for a ceasefire, the opening of access points and an increase in humanitarian aid and commercial goods entering Gaza.
