UN calls for urgent aid for hospitals in northern Gaza

GAZA: The United Nations emergency relief office has once again called for urgent aid for clinics in the embattled Gaza Strip, especially for hospitals in the north, as there are continued reports of attacks on and around hospitals there, reported German news agency (dpa).

The appeal, made on Tuesday, Christmas Eve, is for urgently needed food and water, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). In Gaza City in the north, only three ventilators are available for infants needing intensive medical care, according to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

The situation in the hospitals Kamal Adwan, Al Awda and the Indonesian Hospital in the north of the Gaza Strip has drastically deteriorated since Sunday, when Israel's army said it had conducted a limited operation against Hamas in the area around the Indonesian Hospital. These claims could not initially be independently verified.

OCHA further reported that northern Gaza remains almost completely besieged. Since Dec 1, Israeli authorities have denied 48 out of 52 attempts by the UN to coordinate access for humanitarian aid. The new UN emergency coordinator Tom Fletcher reported earlier of a collapse of law and order in the isolated coastal area, stating that supplies are being systematically looted by local gangs.

According to Israel's account, there are enough relief goods available, but the UN has not managed to distribute them. From an international legal perspective, Gaza is considered occupied territory by Israel, which is responsible for maintaining order.

-- BERNAMA

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