UN Warning of Continued War in Gaza in Another Way Despite Ceasefire

The media advisor for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Adnan Abu Hasna, warned that the war in the Gaza Strip has continued in another way despite the ceasefire, through the ongoing humanitarian suffering, the spread of diseases, and the widespread destruction of infrastructure.

Abu Hasna confirmed that Gaza may return to square one if this situation continues, especially with the lack of dramatic improvement in conditions as expected after the ceasefire.

The UN official viewed that the statement issued by some European countries and Japan regarding the deteriorating humanitarian situation expresses the reality of what is happening on the ground in Gaza.

He pointed out that everyone expected a dramatic improvement after the ceasefire, but this did not happen at all; rather, the situation is extremely dangerous despite the partial cessation of direct bombing.

Abu Hasna highlighted that Israel will not be satisfied with preventing UNRWA from importing 6,000 trucks loaded with food and humanitarian materials, but will add dozens of international non-governmental organizations to the ban list.

He explained that these organizations are active in the relief and medical sectors, and their absence from the scene would exacerbate the situation and make it more dangerous.

In a related context to the crisis of tents and shelter, the UN official raised a question about the reason for preventing the entry of hundreds of thousands of tents that UNRWA and others purchased for hundreds of millions of dollars and are standing at the gates of the sector, while Israel has only allowed the entry of tens of thousands of tents despite the actual need for hundreds of thousands of them.

On the health and environmental challenges, Abu Hasna pointed out that the issue during weather depressions is not just the rains, but the sewage water that mixes with the rains and floods the displacement camps.

This catastrophic situation leads to the spread of serious diseases in various areas of the sector, especially with the ongoing collapse of the health sector and the destruction of water and sewage systems.

The UNRWA media advisor emphasized that no place in the world without an organized health sector can face a humanitarian disaster of this magnitude, and considered the collapse of the health sector to make it almost impossible to deal with the escalating crisis, especially with the spread of diseases resulting from water pollution and poor sewage.

Regarding the new Israeli law, Abu Hasna explained that the European Commission for Humanitarian Aid announced the impossibility of implementing the law for registering non-governmental organizations in its current form.

This law requires lists of Palestinian employees for security checks, without knowing what happens in this process, where 80% to 90% of employees can be rejected for undisclosed reasons.

In the context of reactions from international organizations, the UN official explained that humanitarian organizations are wary of this issue because it will impose strict restrictions on their operations, and these organizations may find themselves without trained manpower capable of performing vital tasks, which means a complete paralysis of humanitarian work in the besieged sector.

Abu Hasna explained that UNRWA has contacted the Israeli side dozens of times through the regional and international United Nations system regarding the hundreds of thousands of detained tents, but there are no reasonable and clear responses so far.

He emphasized that these materials are not of dual use, and that Israel monitors them and knows how they are used, and that UNRWA is ready to provide detailed reports on the use of spare parts, medical devices, food materials, and tents, but there are no real responses to the systematic blockade that is happening.