The Gaza Strip’s collective of charitable organisations said more than 1,000 Palestinians have died as a result of the ongoing Israeli blockade on the coastal enclave.
The coordinator of the organisations, Ahmad al-Kurd, also said on Sunday that five premature babies born in the past few days died because of a lack of available medical treatment.
“Out of the 1,000 or so victims of the blockade, 450 died as a result of the collapse of the health situation in Gaza, such as the lack of medical supplies and the crisis of medical referrals for outside treatment.”
Gazans continue to face a desperate situation because of the blockade with water and electricity shortages, as well as a lack of medicines and doctors unable to perform surgeries.
Kurd said the use of alternative electricity by residents of the Gaza Strip since 2006 has caused the deaths of 100 people.
“The use of candles, firewood or generators has resulted in house fires that claimed the lives of children and adults alike,” he said.
In # Gaza in the shadow of the narrow and siege of the city turned Mercedes car into a toy cart for children pic.twitter.com/77in124MrW
— وائل أبو عمر (@WaelAboOmer) February 26, 2018
Furthermore, the number of workers who were killed in the fields of agriculture, fishing and commercial tunnels has reached 350.
Kurd described the Gaza Strip, where two million Palestinians live, as the world’s largest prison.
“Gaza is a disaster area in all areas – health, environmental, social, and energy,” he said.
Palestinians in besieged Gaza suffering on the 1st day of temporary opening of Rafah Crossing #SaveGaza #END GAZA SIEGE pic.twitter.com/RLn1asgUhZ
— Amin Jarrar (@AminJarrar1) February 21, 2018
Solutions must be found to the crisis of power cuts that last between 18-20 hours a day, he added.
The Palestinian government “must provide the needs of the Gaza Strip regarding medical supplies, social assistance, pay the salaries of government employees, and exert pressure to open the border crossings,” Kurd said.
(Aljazeera, PC, Social Media)
