Red Cross: 1.5 million Gazans are still unable to rebuild their lives

[ 30/06/2009 - 09:35 AM ]

GENEVA, (PIC)--

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported Monday that six months after the Israeli war in the besieged Gaza Strip, 1.5 million Palestinians there are still living in poverty, despair and unable to rebuild their lives and reconstruct their homes.

In a press release, the Red Cross said that the tight restrictions imposed by Israel on Gaza are blocking reconstruction efforts by donors that have pledged 4.5 billion dollars.

It also stated that Gaza lacks basic medicines and its water, sanitation and health facilities is collapsing, demanding Israel to allow in spare parts, water pipes, construction materials and other basic supplies into Gaza to start the reconstruction process.

The ICRC underlined that Gaza neighborhoods especially the worst-bombed areas still look as if they have been hit by a strong earthquake, adding that the Gaza people are falling more and more in a state of despair, where thousands of them are still without appropriate shelter.

The agency added that the patients in Gaza are not receiving the needed treatment as the siege emptied the hospitals from the basic medical supplies and equipment, and the repeated power outages, due to the lack of fuel to run the generators and Israel’s shelling of Gaza power station, caused further suffering and limited the functionality of hospitals and medical centers.

Hundreds of patients died in Gaza, hundreds remain in critical conditions but Israel is still barring their transfer to hospitals outside the Strip, the agency noted.

It warned that poverty rates in Gaza have reached alarming levels, and that larger numbers of children are suffering from malnutrition.

In another context, the ministry of housing and public works in Gaza renewed Monday its warning to citizens of Gaza not to approach the homes destroyed or affected during the Israeli war in the aftermath of a house collapse in Gaza.

In a press statement, the ministry said that it hastened to remove the rubble of the collapsed house and recover the bodies of victims soon after hearing the sad news.

The ministry explained that the house had sustained extensive structural damage and was not fit for habitation or use, adding that it informed the house owners that it would remove the building in cooperation with the UNDP and an explosive ordnance disposal team who would uncover the remains of explosive materials.