Desperate times in Gaza
International
As evacuation orders continue in southern Gaza and with an estimated 1.8 million people now internally displaced, Caritas Australia says the humanitarian situation is becoming ‘even more desperate’.
Sally Thomas, Humanitarian Emergencies lead, said as a result of the war between Israel and Hamas, people in Gaza were ordered to evacuate their homes in exchange for a temporary shelter “where the demand on scarce amenities will be higher as displaced people flood in, and where reports of disease are also on the rise”.
“Once people leave their homes, they become part of a population of displaced persons. This is a marginalised identity that brings with it a host of challenges, traumas, and vulnerabilities,” she said.
“As we look ahead the simple unavoidable truth is that further displacement will lead to less food, less water, less medicine, less available beds and shelters, more disease, more suffering, and more death. As discourse about the nature of conflict in the south continues, evacuation should not be seen as humanitarian when the reality is such a departure from human rights and dignity.”
To support the Gaza Appeal, visit caritas.org.au/gaza or call 1800 024 413 toll free.
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