Specialized officials warned, today, Wednesday, of difficult humanitarian conditions for citizens in the Gaza Strip, following the recent Israeli aggression, and the continued closure of the "Karm Abu Salem" commercial crossing by the Israeli occupation authorities, through which goods, supplies, medical supplies and medicines pass through. and reconstruction supplies.
This came during a conference held by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights in Gaza City under the title: “The Humanitarian Situation in Gaza after the Israeli Aggression,” in which specialists from the Ministries of Health, Public Works and Housing, Education, Economy, Social Development, the Energy Authority and the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility participated. and the Gaza Municipality, in the presence of relief and civil society organizations.
The conference recommends the need to provide international protection for civilians
The conference recommended the need to provide international protection for civilians from Israeli aggressive actions, and to provide protection for basic services and infrastructure facilities from deliberate targeting, which exacerbates the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.
He called for a serious investigation into the crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces against civilians, including members of the medical staff and civil defense, and to hold accountable war criminals who used excessive force and prohibited weapons, in accordance with the rules of international humanitarian law, and to prosecute the perpetrators of those crimes, and bring them to international courts.
The conference demanded compensation and reparation for civilians in Gaza for the heavy losses they sustained during the war attack on the Strip, taking into consideration compensation for those who were harmed during the previous hostilities, and have not been compensated so far, especially those affected by the 2014 aggression, and to provide urgent relief programs to help the affected citizens Those whose homes were destroyed and became homeless, and those who lost their economic facilities and commercial projects and became without a source of income to secure their basic needs.
He called on the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, to take practical steps, in accordance with their legal obligations, in order to compel the Israeli occupation authorities to lift all forms of unjust siege, open all crossings, and allow the import of all kinds of building materials, to speed up the start of the reconstruction process for thousands The houses that were destroyed during the Israeli aggression, and thousands of other civilian facilities.
The conference also called on the donor countries to provide urgent support to start the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, as the delay in the arrival of those funds to the affected people contributes to delaying the reconstruction process, and worsens the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
The conference comes in the wake of the comprehensive Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, which left massive damage to infrastructure facilities, service facilities, thousands of housing, health, economic and educational facilities, and main streets and roads.
Sourani: The occupation deliberately used excessive force to target civilians
The director of the Center, Raji Al-Sourani, reviewed the repercussions of the recent Israeli aggression on the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, stressing that “the occupation deliberately used excessive force to target civilians and destroy infrastructure and civilian facilities to maximize the suffering of civilians.”
Al-Sourani said that the Israeli occupation was keen on the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, using all methods, such as bombing facilities that provide basic services to citizens, and the continuation of the unjust siege imposed on the Gaza Strip for nearly 15 years, which prevents the start of rebuilding what was destroyed by the Israeli war machine. Pointing out that Israel has remarkably targeted women and children in its aggression, and has tried to silence the local and international media by deliberately and unprecedentedly targeting the towers that contain press institutions.
He added that the center´s crews are working around the clock to document the crimes of the occupation for use in prosecuting Israeli war criminals.
Shiblak: Severe damage to water desalination plants
For his part, the Director-General of the Coastal Municipalities Authority Munther Shiblak, in his speech, referred to the impact of the Israeli aggression on water and sanitation facilities, stressing that the occupation forces deliberately caused severe damage to water desalination plants and sewage treatment plants, although the Coastal Municipalities Authority launched after the aggression 2014 marked all service facilities, including desalination plants and sewage plants, where signs were placed on them to avoid being bombed, in coordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Shiblak explained that the authority´s staff dealt quickly and immediately, amid a dangerous atmosphere, so that the municipalities of Gaza can continue to provide basic services to citizens, in light of advance plans prepared by the authority to deal with emergency conditions.
He pointed out that contact was made with the International Committee of the Red Cross to coordinate with the occupation in order to allow the technical teams to carry out necessary repairs to the targeted service facilities, but the occupation refused the request, which caused the leakage of untreated sewage water into the groundwater.
Shiblak said that the Gaza Strip produces 160,000 cubic liters of sewage water, which is a major challenge for treatment plants in light of the damage they sustained during the recent Israeli aggression.
Al-Madhoun: $150 million in losses for “Social Development” following the bombing of its headquarters
In turn, the Commissioner of the Ministry of Social Development, Louay Al-Madhoun, spoke about the ministry´s efforts during the period of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, noting that the ministry´s teams distributed food parcels to citizens displaced as a result of the hostilities, and provided sums of money to those who lost their homes.
Al-Madhoun noted that the ministry building and its stores were directly bombarded by the Israeli warplanes, and this caused material losses estimated at 150 million dollars, which prompted the ministry to send an urgent distress call to the international partner and financiers, after which an amount of 15 million dollars was provided. It will be disbursed as emergency and urgent aid to the affected citizens.
Al-Madhoun added that the Israeli aggression came at a time when thousands of families in the Gaza Strip suffer from extreme poverty, which has worsened their economic conditions, and thus increased the burdens placed on the Ministry.
He noted that the Ministry of Development launched a program of psychological and social support, in which 400 local activists are participating to directly treat the effects of the aggression on the affected families.
Several speeches were delivered during the conference, in which the speakers reviewed the catastrophic effects of the Israeli aggression on citizens, infrastructure, public and private facilities, and service and vital facilities in Gaza, over a period of 11 consecutive days.
