"We only eat once a day" - MyCARE Manager in Gaza

KUALA LUMPUR: "My own child stood in line for three hours and was only given a piece of bread. We only eat once a day, and this is to conserve water usage. This is the overall situation for the residents in Gaza," said Dr. Ziad Shehada, the General Manager of Humanitarian Care Malaysia (MyCARE) in Gaza.

Ziad, when talking about the current violence and humanitarian conflict in Gaza Strip, mentioned that his family is also forced to drink contaminated water because they have no other choice.

"My son is experiencing kidney problems and requires clean water supply," he said in a statement emailed to Bernama while describing the anxious moments of being in Gaza.

Ziad stated that the situation for Gaza's residents is worsening, with restrictions in obtaining clean water supplies and food packages, and that people are forced to queue up for as long as one kilometre to get food supplies.

According to him, the daily death toll is reaching as high as 200-300 people.

"Here, there have been over 2,300 deaths and more than 4,000 injuries due to Israeli Zionist attacks," he said, adding that MyCARE has distributed RM236,650 in aid for the first phase, which includes medical assistance and food packages.

He mentioned that medical aid, including medications, wheelchairs, diapers for infants and adults, and emergency aid kits, was distributed at the Al-Shifaa Hospital in Gaza, benefiting around 800 patients.

Meanwhile, a total of 1,000 food packages were distributed to survivors in school areas in Gaza.

"After this conflict ends, the people of Gaza will continue to need humanitarian assistance from around the world, especially basic supplies to carry on with their daily lives," he added.

He also mentioned that MyCARE has so far collected approximately RM1.081 million in donations for Palestinian humanitarian aid.

Those who wish to contribute to the Palestinian humanitarian fund can do so at mycare.qrd.by/palestin.

Meanwhile, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) (English: Doctors without Borders) in a statement said that access to essential services, including access to drinking water, should be urgently restored in view of the bombing campaign of unprecedented violence on the Gaza Strip.

"Dying under bombs in Gaza cannot be the only option left to people. In the north of the Strip, where Israeli ultimatums ordering people to flee or face annihilation have multiplied; the situation is dramatic."Among the people who have not been able to flee, who do not know where to go, are MSF colleagues who have holed up with their families on site or who continue as much as possible to treat the wounded who are flocking to hospitals. "It is the immediate survival of hundreds of thousands of human beings - men, women, children, the elderly, the wounded, the sick, healthcare personnel, humanitarian personnel - that we are talking about today," it added.-- BERNAMA