Red Cross pleads for unhindered aid access as weather exacerbates 'unbearable conditions' in Gaza
Falling temperatures and heavy rains have ravaged shelters in Gaza, leaving thousands without basic necessities or shelter, said the Red Cross on Wednesday. Citing the deaths of eight newborn babies due to exposure, the Red Cross once again called for unimpeded aid access to the besieged Palestinian enclave.
The Red Cross called Wednesday for safe and unhindered access to Gaza to bring desperately needed aid into the war-torn Palestinian territory wracked by hunger and where babies are freezing to death.
Heavy rain and flooding have ravaged the makeshift shelters in Gaza, leaving thousands with up to 30 centimetres (one foot) of water inside their damaged tents, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said.
The dire weather conditions were "exacerbating the unbearable conditions" in Gaza, it said, pointing out that many families were left "clinging on to survival in makeshift camps, without even the most basic necessities, such as blankets".
Citing the United Nations, the IFRC highlighted the deaths of eight newborn babies who had been living in tents without warmth or protection from the rain and falling temperatures.
Those deaths "underscore the critical severity of the humanitarian crisis there", IFRC Secretary-General Jagan Chapagain said in a statement.
"I urgently reiterate my call to grant safe and unhindered access to humanitarians to let them provide life-saving assistance," he said.
Chapagain issued an "urgent plea to all the parties... to put an end to this human suffering. Now".
(AFP)
Read more on FRANCE 24 English
Read also:
Health system in northern Gaza has been 'obliterated', Red Cross says
Sweden ends UNWRA funding, boosts Gaza aid through alternative channels
