ActionAid: Gaza has become a graveyard for women and girls

Gaza - Together - ActionAid International warned that Gaza would become a cemetery for women and girls after 200 days of humanitarian crisis, as more than 34,000 people were martyred during the past six and a half months, 70% of whom were women and children. 10,000 women were killed in Gaza. Among them, about 6,000 are mothers, according to UN Women. The organization said: There is no safe place in Gaza from death and destruction. At least 18 children were killed during air strikes on Rafah over the weekend, according to reports, in addition to a pregnant woman whose baby was saved by doctors through an emergency caesarean section. Particularly intense airstrikes were carried out in Rafah, Deir al-Balah and Gaza City, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, resulting in hundreds of thousands of people taking refuge there in fear for their lives. She added: Women and girls have been affected by the crisis in Gaza in unique ways over the past 200 days. There are only three hos pitals currently capable of providing maternity care out of 11 partially operating hospitals in the sector. Pregnant women are forced to give birth without adequate care or medical supplies, including antibiotics and painkillers, according to the United Nations Population Fund. Severe food shortages leave many women so malnourished that they are unable to breastfeed their newborns, while some pregnant mothers miscarry very late in their pregnancy as a result of malnutrition. An estimated 690,000 women and girls are forced to deal with menstruation each month amid severe shortages of menstrual supplies, clean water, soap, toilets and privacy. A recent report issued by UNRWA indicates that women and girls are among the detainees arrested in Gaza and indicate that they have been subjected to ill-treatment, including the possibility of harassment and sexual violence, at the hands of Israeli forces. She indicated: Despite experts warning that famine is imminent in the Gaza Strip, the aid entering the Gaza Strip i s still less than the required quantity. An analysis of data collected by UNRWA shows that the average of aid trucks that entered the Gaza Strip on a daily basis during the month of April so far has reached 191 trucks through the Kerem Shalom and Rafah crossings - which is much lower than the rate of trucks that entered the Gaza Strip before October 7, when it was 500 trucks enter it daily. So little aid has been brought in for so long that Oxfam estimates that the Gaza Strip currently needs 1,500 trucks a day to make up the shortfall. The organization noted: Humanitarian workers continue to face unacceptable risks when providing life-saving assistance in Gaza. Just a week after seven aid workers were tragically killed in an airstrike, UNICEF said one of its convoys was hit by live ammunition while waiting at a checkpoint. Meanwhile, aid remains prevented from reaching the places where it is needed most. 41% of humanitarian missions to northern Gaza were rejected between April 6 and 12, where people are most at risk of famine, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, while the World Health Organization said the latest mission to hospitals in northern Gaza was completed. It was only partially completed, and was completed due to severe delays at checkpoints and ongoing military actions. She stressed: If there is any hope of avoiding famine in Gaza, it is necessary to significantly and immediately increase the volume of humanitarian aid entering Gaza and provide full access to it to deliver it to those who need it most. We reiterate that aid and infrastructure workers have a protected status under international humanitarian law and should never be targeted. All donor countries that have not yet resumed their funding to UNRWA must immediately refund UNRWA, as it is the largest active humanitarian organization in Gaza and represents a lifeline for the residents of the Strip. Reham Jaafari, communications and advocacy officer at ActionAid Palestine, said, 'People in Gaza ha ve been living a nightmare from which they cannot wake up for more than 200 days. Gaza has become a graveyard for women and girls, who constitute the vast majority of the number of victims, instead of being a place where they can live and develop.' The women who survived the near-constant bombardment suffer from severe food and water shortages in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. She added: 'It is clear that the full extent of the human rights violations and horror in Gaza has not yet been fully revealed. We are horrified by the recent reports of the discovery of nearly 300 A body in the courtyard of Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. We demand that a full investigation be conducted without delay. The amount of aid currently arriving in the Gaza Strip is still completely insufficient, despite the dire and urgent need for that aid. Therefore, the volume of humanitarian relief must be increased significantly and immediately 'But ultimately, what women and girls and all those trapped in Gaza need most is a per manent ceasefire now - it is the only way to end the killing and allow the sufficient, safe and effective delivery of much-needed humanitarian assistance.' Source: Maan News Agency