United Nations, December 15 (RHC)-- The United Nations humanitarian office has said that people in the Gaza Strip are facing a “public health disaster” as the Israeli regime presses ahead with its brutal assault against Palestinians. 

“We all know that the health care system is or has collapsed,” Lynn Hastings, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory said on Wednesday.  "We’ve got a textbook formula for epidemics and a public health disaster,” Hastings added. 

The United Nations and aid groups have sounded the alarm about the spread of infectious disease in Gaza.

Hastings said people in Gaza had to line up for hours just to access a toilet.   “You can imagine what the sanitation conditions are like,” she said.  “This is leading to nothing but a health crisis.”

Hastings said that almost half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million was now in Rafah in the southern tip of the besieged territory to escape Israeli bombardment.  The southern Gaza Strip is presently reeling under heavy Israeli bombardment, with UN officials warning that no place in Gaza is safe amid Israel's new air raids and evacuation orders.

More than 85 percent of Gaza's population has been internally displaced amid the Israeli aggression.

Hastings earlier said Gaza’s health system was “on its knees” as “mentally and physically exhausted” Palestinians face more violence after a seven-day ceasefire ended between the Palestinian resistance groups and Israel.

The Southern Gaza Strip is presently reeling under heavy Israeli bombardment, with UN officials warning that no place in Gaza is safe amid Israel

Israel’s indiscriminate attacks on Gaza continue for the 68th day, taking a heavy toll on people and civilian structures, especially hospitals across the territory.