RED CROSS CALLS FOR SAFE, UNHINDERED DELIVERY OF HUMANITARIAN AID TO GAZA STRIP

GENEVA, Jan 9 (Bernama-WAFA) -- The International Red Cross called on Wednesday for the safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, where children are dying of cold weather, Palestine News and Info Agency (WAFA) reported. 

Heavy rains and floods have flooded temporary shelters housing hundreds of thousands of displaced people, with water levels reaching 30 cm inside the tents, according to a statement issued by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

The Secretary-General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Jagan Chapagain, warned in a press statement that “without safe access, children will freeze to death, and without safe access, families will starve,” stressing that without safe access to aid, “aid workers cannot save lives.”

He added, “My urgent appeal to all parties is to end this human suffering now,” and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies indicated that eight children were killed by the cold.

“UN reports of children dying from hypothermia in the Gaza Strip underscore the gravity of the humanitarian crisis,” Chapagain said.

He reiterated his “urgent call for safe and unhindered access for humanitarian workers so they can deliver life-saving assistance.”

The displaced people in Gaza are living in makeshift tents, suffering from shortages of food, water, fuel and medicine, with the UN warning for months of famine in the impoverished, devastated and densely populated enclave, and are vulnerable to continued Israeli attacks on the Strip.

-- BERNAMA-WAFA