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amy goodman: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman.
It was another dangerous weekend in Gaza. UNICEF Israeli military attacks on Jabaliya refugee camp have reportedly killed more than 50 children in a 48-hour period. Two residential buildings housing hundreds of displaced people were reportedly destroyed in the attack. UNICEF They are also calling on Israel to launch an immediate investigation after a vehicle driven by one of its staff was shelled by an Israeli quadcopter while flying over Jabaliya this weekend.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said Israeli forces dropped a stun grenade on a polio vaccination center in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan district, injuring at least four children. The Israeli offensive was postponed in October due to indiscriminate shelling, siege and repeated targeting of humanitarian aid workers, before agreeing to a humanitarian moratorium to carry out the final stages of the polio vaccination campaign. It was done nevertheless.
This is a Palestinian mother of three from Gaza City.
Hazard Al-Najjar:(Translation) I am staying here in northern Gaza with all my children and I came here to vaccinate them with polio vaccine. It was scheduled to be obtained a month ago, but was delayed by a month due to the Israeli attack and siege. We hope to protect children from polio. …I call on the world to stop the genocide in northern Gaza. Because we are literally dying. Those who did not die from shelling are also dying from starvation. The situation is catastrophic.
amy goodman: Approximately 15,000 children under the age of 10 in northern Gaza towns, including Jabaliya, Beit Rahia and Beit Hanoun, remain without access to this dose of oral polio vaccine due to the Israeli attack and blockade. There is a high possibility that you will not receive it.
All this comes as 15 humanitarian organizations describe the situation in northern Gaza as “apocalyptic” and that a senior United Nations official says the entire Palestinian population in northern Gaza is “at imminent risk of death from disease, starvation and violence.” This comes in response to the government’s renewed warning that Unquote. The area has been under Israeli siege for nearly a month, and Israel continues to block lifesaving humanitarian aid from entering northern Gaza. Aid groups fear the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza could soon worsen after Israel formally notified the United Nations that it was severing ties with Gaza. UNRWAthe United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees.
We will travel directly to Deir Al Bala in Gaza to join Rachel Cummings, Save the Children International’s Humanitarian Director and Team Leader in Gaza.
Rachel, could you explain what is happening on the ground and what you are asking?
rachel cummings: Hello, thank you for the opportunity.
So we’re asking for a ceasefire, a final ceasefire. As you know, children in Gaza are facing an extraordinary situation. You described this situation very well in terms of the constant onslaught and shelling of children across Gaza, North, Central, South and the Gaza Strip. You know, we have over 14,000 children killed. You mentioned just recently that 50 children were killed in an attack on a shelter in northern Gaza. But this is continuous shelling and children are dying every day. There is not enough food in Gaza. The people of Gaza do not have enough water and clean water. The situation is truly hopeless.
amy goodman: So what exactly needs to happen at this moment? Please explain the level of assistance that will be received and the circumstances in which the polio vaccination program is being discontinued due to airstrikes.
rachel cummings: You know, the fact that a center that was providing polio vaccines was attacked during this period is unfathomable. It’s unusual that that event happened. And, of course, that has a ripple effect and an impact, and it’s not just the people who were affected at the time, but the faith and trust in women and parents and families that will bring children to health centres. They obviously know that vaccinations are very important for children. However, as attacks on health care continue, people will lose faith and confidence in the safety, or presumption of safety, of going to a health facility to receive a vaccine. So the ripple effects on that are going to be huge.
What we need now is to improve access to humanitarian supplies, get supplies into Gaza, and, of course, ensure that those supplies and our teams can safely pass through and reach those most in need. It is to do so. Every day, humanitarian workers, Save the Children, our staff, partners, and humanitarian workers across Gaza literally risk their lives to provide life-saving services to children and their families. . This is an unusual and very unique situation that we are seeing in Gaza.
Being a child in Gaza – and I’m currently in Deir al-Balah, in the central region of the Gaza Strip – is a harrowing existence for children. They live under this constant fear. They have no formal education for more than 12 months. In other words, normal living, daily life, and education protect not only children’s physical health but also their mental health. We are extremely concerned about the mental health of Gaza’s one million children. Every child in Gaza is affected by this war.
amy goodman: And please comment more on the targeting of humanitarian aid workers and on Israel’s current formal notification of severing ties with the United Nations. UNRWA?How important? UNRWA In observing what is happening on the ground in Gaza where you are and getting support?
rachel cummings: It is difficult to quantify or explain how important or essential it is. UNRWA It’s because of the humanitarian effort, the humanitarian response in Gaza. But Gaza has, of course, remained completely dependent on and integrated into Gaza for decades. UNRWAor rather, UNRWA Integrated within Gaza as a whole and the Palestinian population. As a humanitarian agency, we therefore rely heavily on: UNRWA Receive fuel and assist in coordinating access and movement of supplies. So, UNRWA is a huge provider of life-saving services. More than 15,000 consultations are conducted in medical facilities every day. is home to hundreds of thousands of people UNRWA-Designated evacuation center system or previous system UNRWA school. All kinds of elements of society are intertwined UNRWA. Therefore, the cancellation of UNRWA This is extraordinary in terms of providing humanitarian and life-saving assistance to residents here.
amy goodman: Rachel Cummings, Save the Children’s International Humanitarian Director and Team Leader in the Gaza Strip, speaking to us from Deir Al-Balah, thank you so much for joining us. Yes.
