The Regional Director of the Red Cross Describes the Situation in Gaza: Residents Live an Unbearable Life

SadaNews - Nicholas von Arx, the Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at the International Committee of the Red Cross, stated, "The first thing you notice when you enter the Gaza Strip is the extent of the destruction. The second thing you see is the suffocating overcrowding of the places where people live."

This came following a three-day visit that included meetings with authorities, local communities, and partners.

The regional director described the widespread destruction, overcrowding, and enormous humanitarian suffering he witnessed, saying: "What we saw, as we traveled from Rafah, which no longer exists, towards the northern regions, was an immense amount of destruction. You cannot see a single building that has not been affected by the fighting that has been ongoing for two and a half years, and continues still."

He added, "The second thing your eyes catch is the suffocating density in which people live. Many, many people are living in an extremely small space, in tents that offer only the bare minimum for survival."

He continued: "You can then imagine what this means in terms of access to water, the ability to secure shelter, and what it means in terms of maintaining dignity and privacy, and building a new life. These are all things I heard from the people."

He went on to say: "We are trying to build something for ourselves, and we need that, but how can you build something when you have to go out to secure water? When you have to secure the most basic needs, when you first have to guarantee the simplest essentials for survival before you can actually build something you need?"

The regional director for the Middle East and North Africa at the International Committee of the Red Cross said: "What we saw was astonishing to the utmost degree, and the suffering is far from over. There is still much to be done before people can return to what resembles a normal life. The road to accomplishing that is still long, indeed very long."

Arx added: "I believe that what we saw starkly reminds us again of the importance of international humanitarian law in ensuring a minimum of humanity in the bleakest circumstances, as the residents of Gaza are still living in conditions that are unbearable and unacceptable."

The international official visited the Red Cross field hospital in Rafah, the committee's teams in Deir al-Balah, as well as the Shifa Hospital and a water desalination project in Gaza City.

He said: "Humanitarian needs in the Gaza Strip are immense. International humanitarian law must be respected to maintain a minimum of humanity in times of armed conflict."