UN Backs Board of Peace: Israel’s Gaza Flood Response Falls Short
(MENAFN) The UN said Monday it shares the Board of Peace’s view that Israel has not done enough to respond to the flooding emergency in Gaza, and it called on Tel Aviv to let more shelter materials and equipment into the enclave.
Pressed on whether the UN backed the board’s criticism of Israeli efforts to provide adequate shelter, deputy UN spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters: “Yes, we certainly agree.”
Haq said additional temporary housing could be moved into Gaza, but Israeli authorities must first approve its passage through checkpoints.
Heavy weekend rains inundated displacement camps and damaged thousands of tents. The UN reported that an infant drowned, and that three children and at least one woman died when a sand dune collapsed onto their tents.
The UN humanitarian office said more than 26,000 households reported damage to shelters or belongings. More than 150,000 tents remain outside Gaza, waiting to be sent in.
Humanitarian teams are pumping out floodwater, upgrading drainage, shoring up displacement sites with sandbags and handing out emergency supplies, the UN said, but they lack the equipment needed for a crisis of this scale.
In its Monday statement, the Board of Peace demanded that Israel immediately authorize winterization supplies, arguing that delays had aggravated a foreseeable humanitarian emergency. It also urged the Palestinian group Hamas to disarm and hand over governing authority under the peace plan.
Haq also reported ongoing strikes on populated areas of Gaza that have caused more casualties. On Saturday, UN staff visiting a displacement site west of the so-called Yellow Line in Gaza City had to take cover when bursts of gunfire hit nearby, he said. None were hurt. He repeated the UN’s call for civilians to be protected under international humanitarian law.
Pressed on whether the UN backed the board’s criticism of Israeli efforts to provide adequate shelter, deputy UN spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters: “Yes, we certainly agree.”
Haq said additional temporary housing could be moved into Gaza, but Israeli authorities must first approve its passage through checkpoints.
Heavy weekend rains inundated displacement camps and damaged thousands of tents. The UN reported that an infant drowned, and that three children and at least one woman died when a sand dune collapsed onto their tents.
The UN humanitarian office said more than 26,000 households reported damage to shelters or belongings. More than 150,000 tents remain outside Gaza, waiting to be sent in.
Humanitarian teams are pumping out floodwater, upgrading drainage, shoring up displacement sites with sandbags and handing out emergency supplies, the UN said, but they lack the equipment needed for a crisis of this scale.
In its Monday statement, the Board of Peace demanded that Israel immediately authorize winterization supplies, arguing that delays had aggravated a foreseeable humanitarian emergency. It also urged the Palestinian group Hamas to disarm and hand over governing authority under the peace plan.
Haq also reported ongoing strikes on populated areas of Gaza that have caused more casualties. On Saturday, UN staff visiting a displacement site west of the so-called Yellow Line in Gaza City had to take cover when bursts of gunfire hit nearby, he said. None were hurt. He repeated the UN’s call for civilians to be protected under international humanitarian law.
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