Egypt's border crossing opens to let desperately needed aid into Gaza
Gaza's 2.3 million Palestinians, half of whom have fled their homes, are rationing food and drinking dirty water.
LEARN MOREPosted: 12:23 p.m. EDT Oct 23, 2023
A limited number of trucks containing humanitarian aid have been allowed into the Gaza Strip as Israel ramps up its air strikes on Hamas targets in the region.
As this war continues, a humanitarian organization said it's forced to "make do" with limited resources as Israel has blocked fuel from entering Gaza. Without fuel, places like hospitals struggle to operate because there is nothing to power generators.
Janti Soeripto, CEO of Save the Children, said there were many humanitarian concerns in Gaza before violence started in the region. The recent escalation has only added to a dire situation, she said.
"Water is of course the biggest concern, and it was rapidly running out. And then when there is no clean water, then everything else becomes a ton harder and you get waterborne diseases," Soeripto said. "Without fuel, it is very difficult to operate hospitals to actually have distributions happen efficiently."
Soeripto said organizations like hers have asked the Israeli government to allow fuel to enter Gaza for humanitarian purposes. Israel is concerned that Hamas could use the fuel to help launch more attacks against Israel.
Soeripto noted that about half of the 2 million people in Gaza are children, and that she is "desperately concerned about the fate of children and their families."
"We've just moved a million people into a third of the Gaza Strip and there was nothing there that was really prepared to absorb those numbers," Soeripto said. "Let alone the fact that the hospitals can run and that local suppliers are rapidly running out of food and water and everything else. So we are looking at a catastrophe."
Soeripto said Save the Children has supplies such as food, water and medicine for those in Gaza.
"The biggest ask of aid agencies like ours is that there is a humanitarian pause in the violence and then allow those trucks to come in," she said.
