Louise Wateridge, of a UNRWA school in Gaza City, north of the Gaza Strip, said the UN humanitarian mission has been trying to get supplies into northern Gaza for about 50 days, which includes Israeli-besieged areas like Jabalia, but mostly has access. Needs have been extremely limited.
Lewis Wateridge: I heard horrifying stories today while talking to families who fled Jabaliya for their lives. They say there was nothing left. This area is completely devastated. Death was all around. They ran out of food. They had no water left.
They reached the UNRWA school in search of safety. But a few days after their arrival, many people who took refuge here were killed by Israeli airstrikes. And we saw six such cases at the UN school shelter.
Since the beginning of the Israeli blockade, it has been a dire situation where people are forced to flee for their lives from the besieged northern region; They come to Gaza City in search of safety, but danger continues to follow them. Death and destruction are their shadows.
‘Once upon a time there was life’
UN News: What is left of Gaza City?
Lewis Wateridge: As far as the eye could see, every building was damaged and destroyed. You might see a stairwell riddled with bullet holes or an open living room outside a third-floor apartment, signs that there was once life here.
Gaza City is now home to about 300,000 people and only ruins remain. That is why people are being forced to take refuge in these UN facilities, because they have nowhere to go.
With the arrival of winter people are trying to find some kind of shelter and protection and trying to protect themselves from the cold weather. They need tarpaulins, tents and shelter. They have no blankets or mattresses. They are just out in the open.
UN News: How hard is it to get support material?
Lewis Wateridge: For nearly 50 days, Israel has blocked or disrupted access to the besieged area of northern Gaza. People have no food or water. We heard people say they drank pond water to survive.
Eight UNRWA water wells were damaged and destroyed in Jabaliya. Hospitals have been repeatedly attacked, and all UNRWA health clinics have run out of medicine.
UN News: Many humanitarian workers have been injured and committed suicide since the start of this war. Are humanitarian aid workers still at risk?
Lewis Wateridge: Yes, every day. There is absolutely no safe place in Gaza.
247 UNRWA colleagues were killed in the fighting.
Day and night, our colleagues and their families are being injured and killed.
Every day when my team and I wake up in the morning, the first thing we do is text each other that everyone survived the other night.
For the past few weeks, our colleagues have been scattered throughout the Gaza Strip. Sometimes we lose touch with each other for days or weeks and we don’t know how they are.
Sometimes we find out that our colleagues have been killed and we don’t even get the information for days. Sometimes they come back online. This is a desperate situation.
Several UN convoys were fired upon. In July, I was part of a convoy that was shot at while delivering supplies to northern Gaza.
It is becoming increasingly dangerous and difficult for humanitarians to do their work.