UNICEF warns that the children of Gaza will die of thirst unless the fuel is available to pump water

This is what was stated by UNICEF spokesman James Elder, who was speaking to journalists in Geneva from the Jordanian capital, Amman, after a visit to the Gaza Strip. He stated that no fuel entered Gaza for more than a hundred days due to the strict Israeli restrictions on the few humanitarian aid allowed to enter.

In this context, Mr. Eder said that Gaza is now suffering strongly، As only 40% of drinking water production facilities are still working, and warned that without fuel, “Each of them will stop working within weeks.”

“Cutting ways to stay”

Mr. Eder said that diseases are already exacerbated “The chaos is intense”, But he stressed that the water crisis is not logistical or technical, but rather political. He added: “In Gaza, deprivation has become a policy. If the political will is available, the water crisis will be reduced overnight. The fuel means the flow of water from hundreds of underground wells and the restoration of supplies literally within one day, but the time is running out.”

Mr. Edir said that everyone who saw it in the streets of Gaza was carrying anything in its deal to try to restore water, adding that the donkeys replaced the trucks at the remaining production points, and added: “Even donkeys slow down, as food is barely enough to survive.”

He said that since the electricity was cut off from Gaza, fuel also supports the devastating health care system in Gaza, as it feeds generators that support oxygen production, life support devices, and incubators, and is also used in ambulances. He said: “Preventing fuel not only cuts supplies, but also cuts the ways to survive.”

Another man -made crisis

Just as the human water crisis is a man -made, the malnutrition that you nourish is also as well, according to the UN official, adding that these two crises “They nourish each other, creating a deadly vicious circle.” Since the beginning of the year, more than 110 children who suffer from malnutrition have been introduced to the treatment centers.

To give a clearer picture of the situation on the ground, Mr. Elder quoted a friend in Gaza, where he said: “We learned to live without a lot, without our homes, without our loved ones, so we have learned that we can live without food for a week or two. But we cannot survive without water.”

He said that UNICEF is quite clear that this “The most critical moment that Gaza is going through since the war on children began,” He added: “This is a very tragic situation. An almost complete siege. Humanitarian aid is marginalized. The daily killing of girls and boys in Gaza is not noticed. Now, a deliberate fuel crisis cuts the most important element of survival in the Palestinians, which is water.”

“False equation”

In response to journalists ’questions, Mr. Eder said that the so -called“ Gaza Humanitarian Foundation ”said “The situation increases tragic.” He said that Gaza residents face hunger “With a deadly choice, as they are forced to stay in very small pockets, as most people cannot reach the distribution points that are officially known as fighting sites.”

A boy who met him on his recent visit to Gaza, who was injured in a tank shell in one of these sites, adding: “I learned that this young boy had died of these injuries. This indicates what is happening in these sites and what does not happen when it comes to medical evacuation.”

Mr. Eder also pointed out that the most vulnerable groups cannot reach these few sites, and do not get aid amid chaos and strong judgment on the weak. He stressed that there is no clarity about the date of opening these sites, and that they are considered military areas, noting that this exposes people to danger if they enter these sites and they are closed.

He said: “There were mass injuries about these sites when they were closed. Diaspapers were made. Diarding statements to the residents who are entering a fighting area could be fatal.”

Mr. Elder said that the saying that the current distribution system is better than nothing is “A false equation.” He added: “We are not comparing nothing. We compare humanitarian aid systems that have succeeded since World War II. We compare what we saw in Gaza two months ago.”

He said that when the United Nations says the aid should be based on principles and neutral, then this “Not just nice words,” Rather, it is the cause of the organization’s confidence in the organization.

He pointed out that the organization and its agencies are currently providing services in Gaza and this does not cause the killing of civilians at any time. “So the problem is to marginalize a tried and tested system for 70 years.”