US senator calls for immediate humanitarian access to Gaza.
Bernie Sanders wrote on social media on Wednesday: “As winter approaches, more than a million people in Gaza are homeless, with 92 percent of their homes destroyed by Israel.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to restrict the entry of tents and other aid, including food, in violation of the ceasefire.
Sanders added: “Washington should demand that Israel immediately allow full humanitarian access.”
According to the Gaza government media office, 1.5 million Palestinians are displaced in Gaza, living in dire conditions with little access to basic necessities and very limited essential services due to the Israeli blockade.
Since October 2023, the Israeli army has killed nearly 70,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, and injured 171,000 in a brutal war that has devastated large parts of the region.
Officials estimate that Gaza needs 300,000 tents and prefabricated housing units to meet Palestinians’ basic shelter needs after Israel destroyed its infrastructure during two years of bombing.
Under the ceasefire agreement that came into effect on October 10, Israel was supposed to reopen its borders. But the regime has closed Gaza’s crossings and is not allowing shelter materials, including tents and mobile homes, to enter. However, despite repeated Palestinian requests, Israel has not fulfilled its obligations under the agreement.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip announced in a statement that the number of war martyrs has increased to 69,785, according to IRNA.
The United Nations has declared that the Zionist regime’s war in Gaza has created the largest man-made disaster and that the reconstruction of the strip will require at least $70 billion.
The World Food Programme (WFP) said in its latest update that most Gaza households are unable to afford basic food items. The organisation said prices have fallen sharply in recent weeks, but daily food consumption is still far below pre-war levels.