Gaza's humanitarian crisis

Startling statistics that shed light on the situation in Gaza. A report on the BBC website highlights the need for urgent action to prevent a humanitarian disaster in Gaza in what is described as an unprecendented crisis

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A group of UK-based human rights and development organisations have called for fundamental policy changes towards the Gaza Strip by Israel, the international community and the West Bank-based Palestinian leadership.A report sponsored by Amnesty International, Care International UK, Cafod, Christian Aid, Medecins du Monde UK, Oxfam, Save the Children UK and Trocaire, details what the organisations say is the worst humanitarian crisis in the strip since Israel occupied it in the 1967 war, and describe it as a man-made disaster resulting from the isolation and blockade of Gaza after its take-over by Hamas militants last June. The full report can be read here The Gaza Strip:A Humanitarian Implosion

The main points of the report cover the dramatic decline of social and economical indicators and flag key issues such as poverty, food aid dependency, humanitarian access,unemployment, access to basic services and medicalsupplies, They describe the situation as an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. Israel, as the occupying power, is ultimately responsible for ensuring the welfare of the Palestinian population in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), including the 1.5 million Palestinians who live in the Gaza Strip, all of whom are protected persons.Israeli officials however contend that Israel is no longer bound by the laws of occupation since it redeployed its forces to the perimeter of the Gaza Strip in 2005. Israel does control however , The Strip's air space and territorial waters, and the movement of people and goods. The report concludes the Israeli authorities are
bound by their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law to ensure the welfare of the Palestinian population in the OPT.

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