Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 14) — The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Saturday made an appeal to spare innocent civilians as Gaza faces deeper humanitarian crisis brought about by the ongoing tensions between the Israel and the militant group Hamas.
ICRC rapid deployment coordinator Stephen Ryan said that people in Gaza are having problems accessing basic necessities and services.
“At present, people are struggling to have access to food, water, medicine, and electricity,” Ryan told CNN Philippines Newsroom Weekend.
“The water supply is connected strongly to the electricity supply, and these are important basic services that have been cut off due to the ongoing siege,” he also said.
The ICRC official added that power outages and enough supplies also left medical facilities in Gaza overwhelmed.
“The parties to this have a responsibility to the civilians affected by it,\” he said. \”Those who are not part of the fight should continue to have access to basic services.\”
Israel, which controls most of Gaza’s electricity, water, and fuel, has imposed a strict blockade on the Palestinian city in response to Hamas’ brutal attack that led to thousands of deaths and displacement of millions.
Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz earlier said that Gaza will not be provided with electricity, water, and fuel until the extremist group releases the150 Israeli hostages.
But the Hamas warned it will start executing the hostages if Israel continues to target people in Gaza without warning.
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that Gaza’s humanitarian situation “was extremely dire before these hostilities; now it will only deteriorate exponentially.”
The ICRC said that relief organizations must be allowed to send help to the affected population as resources are quickly running out in Gaza.
“It’s important to recognize that the parties of this conflict have this responsibility to make sure that humanitarian act such as the ICRC are able to access this area and are able to provide humanitarian relief,” said Ryan.
“At present, we do not have access to bring further goods into Gaza but we are ready to do so,\” he continued. \”We need support from outside to be able to do it, but we also need the agreement of different governments and different actors to be able to access Gaza and to be able to provide this assistance.\”
Israel’s military on Friday has given a six-hour window to more than one million Gaza residents to move south on specified streets as airstrikes continue.
