Israeli aggression reduced much of Gaza to ruins
United Nations, May 24 (RHC)-- The United Nations says the new Israeli aggression against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip has deteriorated an already dire humanitarian situation in the impoverished enclave generated by nearly 14 years of an all-out blockade and recurrent hostilities.
In a statement on Sunday, UN Humanitarian Coordinator of the occupied Palestinian territory Lynn Hastings made the warning, saying Palestinians “endured unimaginable suffering” during less than two weeks of Israel’s brutal airstrikes against the densely-populated enclave. “The ceasefire must be solidified with all avoiding provocation. There must be a political horizon with the root causes of continued conflict being addressed,’’ the UN official said, calling for ensuring support to continue addressing the current needs, including those arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Israeli regime started a 12-day war against the already Tel Aviv-blockaded Gaza Strip on May 10. As a result of the brutal aggression, at least 248 Palestinians were killed in Gaza, including 66 children, with more than 1,900 people wounded.
Gaza’s resistance groups, including Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, responded to the aggression on the same day that it started targeting the enclave. Throughout the offensive, the groups fired more than 4,000 rockets towards the Israeli-occupied areas. The projectiles swept the entire expanse of the territories, many flying as far as Tel Aviv, the holy occupied city of al-Quds, and even the northern-lying cities of Haifa and Nazareth.
The Israeli regime finally gave in to a ceasefire on Friday, incapable of stopping the resistance’s rocket avalanche. ‘"Several locations that previously were key to providing basic services have been destroyed or damaged, including a medical laboratory that was testing for COVID-19," further said Hastings, whose remarks were also quoted by Palestine’s official Wafa news agency.
"Water sanitation pipelines have been damaged, threatening disease. The only primary healthcare center in the north – which had the best rate of vaccination administration – has been damaged to an extent that they are no longer able to service the community – all during a global pandemic," she added.
