GENEVA, January 26 (Reuters) – Incessant attacks on infrastructure and the cold are making Gaza “completely uninhabitable”, the United Nations Human Rights Office warned on Friday.
“I fear that many more civilians will die,” said Ajith Sunghay, representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Palestinian territories.
“Continued attacks on specially protected facilities, such as hospitals, will kill civilians and have a further and massive impact on Palestinian access to health care, safety and security in general.”
The Office is also concerned about the impact of rain and cold in Gaza, the representative said.
“This was entirely predictable at this time of year, and it risks making an already unsanitary situation completely uninhabitable for the population,” he said.
The Israeli offensive has killed more than 26,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, and thousands more could be buried under the rubble. Most of the 2.3 million residents have been displaced and face severe shortages of food, water and medicine.
“Most of them have no warm clothes or blankets. Northern Gaza, where IDF (Israel Defense Forces) bombing continues, is barely accessible even to provide basic humanitarian aid.”
It would be “disastrous” if the bombings or street fighting currently taking place in Khan Yunis moved further south towards Rafah, on the Egyptian border, said Ajith Sunghay.
Some 1.3 million people are currently massed in this border town to try to escape the Israeli assault. (Report by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; French version by Gaëlle Sheehan, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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