GAZA,(Palestine Foundation Information Center ) The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said that the intensification of the Israeli military operation in Gaza City will expose nearly one million people to new forced displacement.
In a press statement on Friday, UNRWA stressed that any further escalation, alongside the existing famine in Gaza, will deepen suffering and push more people toward catastrophe.
Earlier on Thursday, UNRWA reported that the ongoing Israeli bombardment of Gaza and evacuation orders are forcing entire families to abandon their homes once again amid fear and destruction.
On Wednesday, members of the UN Security Council, with the exception of the United States, issued a joint statement calling for an immediate, permanent, and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza, a significant increase in aid across the Strip, and for Israel to immediately and unconditionally lift all restrictions on the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
They also called on Israel to immediately reverse its decision to seize control of Gaza City.
In a related development, the Director of Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza, Mohammed Abu Salmiya, warned on Thursday of a new virus beginning to spread within the Strip.
Abu Salmiya explained in a press statement that the symptoms of the virus include fever, joint pain, nasal discharge, coughing accompanied by bouts of diarrhea lasting more than a week.
He said, “We do not have the tests to determine the cause of the virus.”
Abu Salmiya added that the spread of the virus is due to weakened immunity caused by malnutrition, in addition to the lack of clean water, the absence of hygiene supplies, and the overcrowding of people in tents.
He confirmed that the new virus is adding further pressure on the exhausted healthcare system, stressing that ending the genocidal war on Gaza would put an end to all these consequences.
