GAZA, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), Older people in Gaza are suffering an overlooked physical and mental health crisis amid Israel’s ongoing blockade of aid and essential medicines and the recent ban on humanitarian organizations, according to a new research published on Thursday by HelpAge International and Amnesty International.
In a health survey by HelpAge International, older people said that food scarcity had caused them to skip meals, including to ensure other family members could eat, while others said they had to ration medications for serious health conditions because of lack of access.
Internally displaced older people also described to Amnesty International how their lack of access to nutritious food, adequate shelter and healthcare was causing extreme harm due to the continuing blockade imposed by Israeli authorities. Interviewees had been displaced multiple times since October 2023.
“In Gaza, older people are enduring an unprecedented physical and mental health collapse as a direct result of Israel’s deliberate infliction of conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza” senior Amnesty official Erika Guevara-Rosas said.
HelpAge International surveyed 416 older people in Gaza and released a report today revealing that 76 percent live in overcrowded tents, while 84 percent said their current living conditions harm their health and privacy.
According to the survey, 79 percent of older respondents also reported being displaced over three times since October 2023.
HelpAge International’s survey reveals how Israel’s ongoing unlawful, cruel and inhumane restrictions on the entry of life-saving aid have impacted older people’s ability to access critical healthcare and medications, and have limited their access to nutritious food and to adequate shelter.
“The rights and needs of older people in Gaza must not be ignored. Many continue to endure degrading living conditions and a desperate humanitarian situation following the destruction of their homes and repeated displacements. Israeli authorities must immediately and unconditionally lift their blockade, and allow the unhindered entry of essential supplies, including medicine and shelter materials,” the rights groups stressed.
