Ramallah: Samir Muhaisen, a Gazan who is living with his family in a UN school, told Gulf News that conditions were no longer habitable, as many people were not able to access food and water.
“People have not showered since the Israeli assault,” he said.
Various diseases have affected hundreds of Palestinians living in the shelters due to poor conditions. At least 400,000 Palestinians have been internally displaced in Gaza, and two-thirds of these people have lost their homes.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that these people are currently seeking refuge in 87 UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) schools designated as emergency shelters. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Ministry of Social Affairs has announced it will provide $1,000 (Dh3,672) each in preliminary assistance to families whose houses were destroyed in the Israeli assault, Further help with providing tents and caravans to homeless families is also under way.
Meanwhile, indirect talks between Israelis and Palestinians for a long-term truce in Gaza resumed on Sunday, with just over a day left before a temporary ceasefire is set to expire, a Palestinian official said. The Egyptian-mediated talks have dragged on since August 4, when both sides agreed a renewable temporary ceasefire to end a month of fighting that has killed almost 2,000 Palestinians in Gaza. The latest such ceasefire, a five-day lull, is meant to give Egyptian mediators time to bridge the gaps in the negotiations. Hamas has insisted that any deal must include a lifting of the Israeli-imposed blockade on Gaza while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that Israel’s security needs must be taken into account.
