The United Nations Deputy Special Coordinator, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Muhannad Hadi, visited the Shifa Medical Complex in northern Gaza to assess the ongoing humanitarian crisis and medical needs of the people of the Strip, almost a year after the devastating war.
Hadi met with medical staff and local authorities and discussed challenges facing the healthcare system, which remains severely overstretched.
Hadi spoke to the UN News Gaza correspondent about the gravity of the situation there, saying: “I am in the most dangerous place in the world. “Yes, I am in Gaza today. Specifically at Al-Shifa Hospital. There is no safe place in Gaza, as you know. Everywhere is a frontline. Hospitals, homes, schools and houses have turned into a battlefield. Everywhere you go in Gaza is dangerous. I’m here a year after the war, and it’s very difficult to recognize this place. Everything has changed. The war has changed Gaza
. I visited Gaza many times, even before the war, and now that I’m here, I can barely recognize the place.”
Hadi noted that the healthcare sector is in dire need of support to be able to deal with the huge number of injuries, warning that the lack of basic supplies is putting lives at risk.
The UN official also highlighted the urgent need for humanitarian aid, especially as winter approaches, which raises concerns about how residents will endure the cold weather in dilapidated shelters.
He went on to say: “As winter approaches, I wonder how people will live when the winter starts and the rains start, when the floods start to flood the tents. When people have nowhere to go. When people desperately need humanitarian aid. Aid that doesn’t reach them as it should. Not in accordance with humanitarian principles, because according to humanitarian principles we have to make sure that everyone gets adequate assistance in a timely manner.”
Hadi called for the immediate removal of obstacles that prevent aid workers
from reaching those in need, emphasizing that humanitarian efforts should not be hindered by political barriers.
He added: “Obstacles are causing a lot of difficulties for humanitarian workers, the UN and NGOs to reach the target population. This has to stop. The war must end. Everyone has suffered enough. The ceasefire must happen today. We should not have to wait any longer. Look around me where I am. Look at the catastrophe that the people of Gaza are going through, but also what the people of the region are going through. This must end today.”
Hadi emphasized the importance of international cooperation and immediate action to prevent further deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the region.
Source: Jordan News Agency