‘Never saw this level of suffering’, says Gaza humanitarian aid worker

Tommaso Della Longa, of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), speaks to The Hindu about the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Gaza Strip, and the critical need for continued humanitarian aid flow.

As the conflict in the Gaza Strip intensifies, Gaza’s health systems have collapsed, and the humanitarian crisis is at a boiling point. United Nations official Jens Laerke said last week, “If there is a hell on Earth today, its name is northern Gaza. People who remain there, the corners of their existence are death, deprivation, despair, displacement and literally darkness.”

Hospitals in northern Gaza — which operate as sites of both treatment and refuge — are being forced to shut down as they run out of fuel. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) on November 13 said al-Quds, the second-largest hospital in the enclave, was under siege, witnessing intense gunfire from Israeli military as thousands of patients, families, aid workers and journalists were trapped. “Medical staff are making every effort to provide care to patients and the wounded, even resorting to unconventional medical methods amid dire humanitarian conditions and a shortage of medical supplies, food, and water,” the PRCS said.

Healthcare workers and aid agencies say essential supplies are drying up in other parts, endangering millions in the populated strip of land. Israel on October 21 partially lifted its blockade on Gaza, but refused to allow fuel into the region citing concerns that Hamas would divert it for military purposes. On November 9, Israel agreed to a daily four-hour humanitarian pause, to allow aid to enter the enclave while giving civilians in northern Gaza time to flee to ‘safer’ places in the south. As of November 15, Israeli officials have said they will allow fuel shipments for humanitarian operations.

Tommaso Della Longa, of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), speaks to The Hindu’s Saumya Kalia about the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Gaza Strip, and the critical need for continued humanitarian aid flow.

This interview was conducted on November 13, 2023. The situation is rapidly evolving and deteriorating on the ground, so facts and figures may have changed. The Israeli military on November 15 said it was carrying out a ‘raid’ against Hamas militants in Al Shifa Hospital, the biggest hospital in the Gaza Strip where thousands of Palestinian civilians are seeking shelter. Reports suggest the military has raided the surgery and emergency departments and is carrying out bombings in the medical complex. The raid represents “a new crime against humanity, medical staff, and patients”, the Palestinian health minister has said.