A Lot of Pregnant Women and Children Has Medical Conditions in Gaza
- AP Photo/Hatem Ali
Gaza – The Ministry of Health in Gaza said on Monday that a staggering 50,000 pregnant women and over 900,000 children are grappling with a lack of access to essential medical care within the confines of displacement shelters.
The Ministry’s spokesperson, Ashraf Al-Qudra, expressed concerns about the alarming situation during a press conference, emphasizing the dire and overwhelming health and humanitarian conditions faced by more than 1.9 million displaced individuals in the Gaza Strip.
The displaced population in Gaza, caused by the relentless ground and air operations of the Israeli occupation Forces (IOF), is now confronted with the imminent threats of hunger, epidemic outbreaks, and infectious diseases due to the acute shortage of suitable shelter, water, food, and medications in the displacement centers.
Al-Qudra showed that this critical situation, highlighting the risks of malnutrition and medical complications faced by 50,000 pregnant women, especially those with high-risk pregnancies, is caused by the scarcity of drinking water, hygiene, food and medical care in shelters.
Furthermore, this suffering affects more than 900,000 children living in these shelters, exposing them to extreme cold, dehydration, malnutrition, infectious diseases, respiratory and skin disorders, and psychological disorders.
"The Gaza Strip is at risk of starvation and the spread of epidemics and infectious diseases, due to the lack of adequate shelter, water, food and medicine in refugee reception centers," he said.
He issued an appeal to UN agencies, urging urgent intervention to save the lives of children, pregnant women and the sick, while preventing an impending health, humanitarian and psychological disaster in refugee centers.
“Urgent intervention to save the lives of children, pregnant women and the sick, and to prevent a health, humanitarian and psychological disaster in shelters,” Al-Qudra urged.
Meanwhile, in stark contrast to the escalating humanitarian crisis, an Israeli military spokesperson declared an extension of time for the ongoing bloody campaign in Gaza, and confirmed that hostilities will continue throughout 2024.
Nearly three months after the start of IOF's bloody campaign in Gaza, the death toll reached 21,978 people, mostly women and children, and 57,697 people were injured.
The aggression has massively destroyed infrastructure, housing and health centers, and caused an unprecedented humanitarian disaster, plunging Gaza's 2.3 million residents into the abyss of suffering, as shown by official reports from Gaza authorities and the United Nations.