ID :
42584
Sun, 01/25/2009 - 13:13
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/42584
The shortlink copeid
Conditions in Gaza emergency shelters dire, people face public health crisis: UNICEF
New York, Jan 25, 2009 (WAM) - Tens of thousands of Palestinians remain in United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRAW) emergency shelters, said The United Nations Children's Fund - UNICEF.
"Conditions in the emergency shelters (in Gaza) are dire and humanitarian aid officials warn of a growing public health crisis", the UN body added.
"We are happy not to hear the shelling anymore," Reem Shamieh, 16, was quoted by UNICEF report on the humanitarian situation after 3 weeks of unabated Israeli air, land and sea bombardment.
"But now our wounds open as we hear what happened to our friends", said Reem whose family in Gaza City opened their home during the fighting to relatives forced out of their own houses. Forty people, 20 of them children, were crammed into five rooms.
"It's very difficult ... If we can get to sleep at all, then we wake to the sound of shelling. I play with the kids to keep them from thinking about the shelling", Reem said.
Food and water rations are low, officials in Gaza say, due to the UN's inability to restock warehouses prior to the start of the conflict on 27 December. Basic supplies and fuel have been restricted from entering Gaza for months.
Electricity remains sporadic, and many neighbourhoods are without water and sewage disposal because pumps have stopped running.
At the same time, the winter cold and rains have set in. Reem's young cousin has just developed an ear infection. One doctor worries about the spread of illness and respiratory infections in crowded shelters.
The World Health Organization warns of the spread of disease due to unrecovered corpses and the unchecked flow of sewage.
Health officials, UNICEF says, are also deeply concerned about the long-term ramifications of the weeks-long halt of immunization efforts.
"Hospitals are overwhelmed by the large numbers of injuries. Palestinian officials say that 5,300 people were injured in the fighting, more than 1,800 of them children", it noted.
"Conditions in the emergency shelters (in Gaza) are dire and humanitarian aid officials warn of a growing public health crisis", the UN body added.
"We are happy not to hear the shelling anymore," Reem Shamieh, 16, was quoted by UNICEF report on the humanitarian situation after 3 weeks of unabated Israeli air, land and sea bombardment.
"But now our wounds open as we hear what happened to our friends", said Reem whose family in Gaza City opened their home during the fighting to relatives forced out of their own houses. Forty people, 20 of them children, were crammed into five rooms.
"It's very difficult ... If we can get to sleep at all, then we wake to the sound of shelling. I play with the kids to keep them from thinking about the shelling", Reem said.
Food and water rations are low, officials in Gaza say, due to the UN's inability to restock warehouses prior to the start of the conflict on 27 December. Basic supplies and fuel have been restricted from entering Gaza for months.
Electricity remains sporadic, and many neighbourhoods are without water and sewage disposal because pumps have stopped running.
At the same time, the winter cold and rains have set in. Reem's young cousin has just developed an ear infection. One doctor worries about the spread of illness and respiratory infections in crowded shelters.
The World Health Organization warns of the spread of disease due to unrecovered corpses and the unchecked flow of sewage.
Health officials, UNICEF says, are also deeply concerned about the long-term ramifications of the weeks-long halt of immunization efforts.
"Hospitals are overwhelmed by the large numbers of injuries. Palestinian officials say that 5,300 people were injured in the fighting, more than 1,800 of them children", it noted.
