GAZA STRIP: The Red Cross demanded safe and unimpeded access to provide much-needed relief into the war-torn Palestinian enclave where infants are freezing to death after Israeli air strikes killed at least 51 more people on Wednesday, according to Palestinian medics.
At least ten individuals were murdered by an airstrike in a multi-story home in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, while five more were killed in the Zeitoun suburb nearby, according to medical officials. Seven people were killed, they said, in Jabalia, the largest of Gaza’s eight historic refugee camps, and in Deir Al-Balah city in central Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are taking refuge.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza reported that 51 Palestinians had died in the Palestinian enclave in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of fatalities to 45,936 as Israel continued its assault. Additionally, the ministry reported that during the previous 15 months, at least 109,274 people had been injured.
The health ministry issued a warning, saying that unless the Israelis stop limiting the flow of gasoline to the facilities, Nasser Hospital and the Gaza European Hospital may cease operations in a few hours.
In a final attempt to bring about peace in the Middle East, the death toll approaches 46,000.
Much of the enclave has been destroyed by the Israeli campaign. According to humanitarian organizations, the majority of the 2.1 million residents in the region have experienced repeated displacement and are severely short on food and medicine.
people are “clinging on to survival without even the most basic necessities, such as blankets,” according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which warned on Wednesday that people are living in ruined tents with up to 30 cm of water inside due to torrential rains and flooding.
Hamas maintained its stance that a ceasefire could only be achieved if Israel agreed to stop the atrocities and remove its troops from Gaza, despite Israel accusing the Palestinian organization of obstructing the ceasefire.
However, the Red Cross demanded unrestricted and safe access to Gaza. According to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, hundreds of people in Gaza were left with up to 30 cm (one foot) of water inside their ruined tents as a result of heavy rain and flooding that devastated the makeshift shelters.
It claimed that Gaza’s terrible weather was “exacerbating the unbearable conditions.”
The IFRC cited the UN to draw attention to the deaths of eight newborns who were left in tents without any shelter from the rain and the chilly weather. According to IFRC Secretary-General Jagan Chapagain, those fatalities “underscore the critical severity of the humanitarian crisis there.”
He reaffirmed his urgent demand that humanitarians be allowed safe, unimpeded access so they can provide life-saving aid. “Children will freeze to death if safe access is not provided.” Families will starve if they cannot get secure access. Humanitarians cannot save lives without safe access.
Since Israel began its assault in Gaza in 2023, more than 330 humanitarian workers have been killed there, according to a UN report.
An “urgent plea to all the parties […] to put an end to this human suffering. Now” was made by Mr. Chapagain.
The “continuing attacks on health facilities across the Gaza Strip,” according to the IFRC, meant that patients could not get the care they required. It said that the humanitarian situation has drastically changed since the major Rafah border crossing was closed in May of last year. It cautioned that “only a trickle of aid is currently entering Gaza.”
In some areas of the West Bank, access to healthcare has also been “seriously compromised,” according to a warning from the charity Doctors Without Borders. It further stated that it was witnessing “a dramatic decline in children’s mental health.”
In the meantime, the United States, Qatar, and Egypt persisted in their attempts to come to a ceasefire agreement; according to a person familiar with the negotiations, the most recent attempt was the most serious to date.
Many in the area see President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20 as an unofficial deadline, and the departing US government has urged for a last-ditch effort to reach an agreement before President Biden leaves office.
“There isn’t a deal yet, but things are better than ever before,” the person told Reuters.
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy, stated overnight that he hopes to have positive news to share regarding the prisoner swap agreement by the time Trump takes office.
