More than 34,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, according to a recent United Nations report. They include more than 10,000 women, 6,000 of whom have left behind 19,000 orphans. The health and living conditions of women and girls in Gaza continue to plummet due to lack of access to hygiene products and the threat of infectious diseases for their family caregivers.
Due to the water and sanitation crisis, forcibly displaced women and their families are surviving on just 1.5 liters of water per day, compared to the minimum amount prescribed in crisis situations of 15 liters per day. is. This effect is especially severe for pregnant women and breastfeeding infants. According to a United Nations report, for hydration she needs at least 7.5 liters of water per day, without taking into account the need to maintain basic hygiene standards.
“We are already seeing an increase in the number of women and children suffering from dehydration and diarrhea. “They are particularly vulnerable because they need water, which is currently largely unavailable in Gaza,” the doctor said. UN team.
Diarrhea is not the only disease that has become easier to spread due to war. The United Nations agency has recorded an increase in the number of diseases such as hepatitis A, as well as scabies and lice. Among women and girls, a lack of water combined with a lack of sanitary products such as menstrual pads can lead to an increase in genital and urinary tract infections. Approximately 10 million disposable sanitary napkins need to enter Gaza every month to ensure basic menstrual hygiene, a number that cannot be met.
Instead, Israel's blockade of humanitarian convoys has forced women and girls to rely on makeshift sponges, scraps of tents, and pieces of cloth during their periods. This not only has implications for physical and reproductive health, but also carries mental health risks as women are forced to menstruate without privacy due to lack of hygiene facilities or showers.
Read more: Women in Gaza remain hardest hit by war
Israel's interference with humanitarian operations and convoys has resulted in insufficient food reaching Gaza, exacerbating existing concerns about malnutrition and hunger. Even convoys that are allowed into the region, such as the one coordinated by the World Food Program and targeted by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) in early April, are not provided with adequate security. and is still under attack.
According to an analysis published by the Oyama Research and Development Center, when Palestinian civil protection agencies and volunteers attempt to accompany convoys, they themselves become targets for the Israeli military. “This is a systematic policy that obliterates and squanders all the resources of the Palestinian people, which are critical to helping the Palestinian people stand firm against Israel's brutal onslaught,” Bisan said. The report concludes.
The same goes for the destruction of Palestinian medical infrastructure by IOF. A recent World Health Organization (WHO) mission to Al-Shifa Hospital, once Gaza's largest referral center, documented the extent of destruction inflicted on the hospital in the IOF's latest attack.in the field report From Al Shifa, WHO Representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territories Richard Pieperkorn reflected on the possibility of turning the site into a referral center again. WHO remains committed to achieving this, but it will require significant effort, the report says.
Read more: Israel destroys al-Shifa hospital, ripping out the heart of Gaza's health system
Al-Shifa is now in ruins and will require a major demolition operation, followed by intervention by architectural, health and water engineers, as well as the replacement of all medical equipment destroyed by the IOF. . According to Peeperkorn's report, this is only a long-term goal. In the short term, complexes may serve as first response points as more resources are allocated to basic clearing. But even this will not be possible without a ceasefire and guarantees of the safety of health missions entering Gaza.
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