War day 92 in the Gaza Strip. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for rocket attacks in northern Israel this morning in an “initial reaction” to the killing of Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri. reports this Haaretz Reference is made to Hezbollah’s statement that 62 rockets were launched.
The Strip has become “completely uninhabitable”
Meanwhile, in the Strip, the toll of Israel’s bombings on Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah last night increased to at least 21 dead and many injured. Second Al Jazeera, It was stated that 18 victims were registered in a house in the al-Manara district of Khan Younis. The other three were found in the rubble of a house in Deir al-Balah, in the center of the Palestinian enclave.
Martin Griffiths, the UN’s coordinator for humanitarian affairs, said the Strip had become “completely uninhabitable” and “its inhabitants face daily threats before the eyes of the world”. The offensive against Hamas in response to the horrific terrorist attack on October 7 left more than 22,000 dead, mostly women and children.
Humanitarian aid fell from the sky to Gaza
Paris announced that French and Jordanian military transport planes dropped 7.7 tons of medical aid supplies to the field hospital in the Gaza Strip in a joint operation. “The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains critical: France and Jordan delivered aid to the people and those helping them in a difficult environment,” French President Emmanuel Macron said.
The operation took place on the night between Thursday and Friday and was aimed at providing medical aid to the Jordanian field hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis. The first airstrike by a Western country on the Strip was acknowledged during Macron’s visit to Jordan last month. Paris added that French and Jordanian troops were on board both C-130 aircraft because the operation was closely coordinated.
Gaza children
Children in the Gaza Strip face a triple threat to their lives as it enters its fourteenth week, with rising cases of disease, declining nutrition, and increasing hostilities. Unicef writes this in a note, stating that thousands of children have died as a result of violence, that the living conditions of children continue to deteriorate rapidly, with the increase in cases of diarrhea in children and the increase in food poverty. risk of increased deaths. “It’s a nightmare that gets worse every day,” says Unicef chief executive Catherine Russell. “Children and families in the Gaza Strip continue to die and be injured in conflict, their lives increasingly at risk from preventable diseases and lack of food and water.
Cases of diarrhea in children under five rose from 48,000 to 71,000 in just one week from 17 December; This corresponds to 3,200 new cases of diarrhea per day. The significant increase in the number of cases in such a short time is a strong indicator that health is rapidly deteriorating. Before the conflict escalated, there were an average of 2,000 cases of diarrhea per month in children under five. This latest surge represents a staggering increase of nearly 2000%.
food missing
An increasing number of children cannot meet their basic nutritional needs. According to research conducted by UNICEF on December 26, approximately 90% of children under the age of two consume two or fewer food groups. That’s up from 80 percent of children in the same survey conducted two weeks ago. Most families said their children only received cereal or milk, including bread, which corresponds to the definition of “severe food poverty.” The dietary diversity of pregnant and breastfeeding women is also seriously compromised: 25% consumed only one type of food the previous day, while almost 65% consumed only two types of food.
The worsening situation raises concerns about acute malnutrition and mortality rates that exceed the famine threshold. UNICEF is particularly concerned about the nutrition of more than 155,000 pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers, as well as more than 135,000 children under the age of two, given their special nutritional needs and vulnerabilities. Malnutrition and disease combined create a deadly vicious cycle if left untreated. There is evidence that children with poor health and nutrition are more vulnerable to serious infections such as acute diarrhoea. Acute and prolonged diarrhea seriously aggravates poor health and malnutrition in children, placing them at high risk of death.
There is no level of hygiene required to prevent disease
Conflict has damaged or destroyed essential water, sanitation, and health systems and limited the ability to treat severe malnutrition. Moreover, due to lack of safe water and sanitation, displaced children and their families are unable to maintain the necessary levels of hygiene to prevent disease, and many resort to open defecation. Meanwhile, the few functioning hospitals are so focused on responding to large numbers of patients injured in the conflict that they cannot adequately treat disease outbreaks.
Palestinians’ new Nakba nightmare
The Israeli right now makes no secret of its goal of moving the largest number of people beyond the borders of the Strip, far away, to Africa. Alarm has been raised among humanitarian organizations as well as staunchest allies such as the United States. The extremes carry significant weight. Finance Minister Smotrich says Gaza is a ghetto to encourage immigration. He argues that at least 90% of the population must leave “to avoid leaving a home where two million people have grown up with hatred and desire to destroy Israel.” “If there are 100 or 200 thousand Arabs in Gaza and there are no longer two million, talking about ‘the next day’ will be different”.
85% of the population is currently internally displaced by war. They have the right to return to their homes. International law prohibits forced transfer. For Gazans, this would be the nightmare of a second catastrophe, the Nakba, the forced displacement that followed the 1947-49 war. Israel is planning for the future: Minister Gallant says, “Palestinians will manage the strip.” However, it is not yet known how many Palestinians there will be.
Source: Today IT
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
