‘People will die in the streets’: Gaza dreads onset of winter as disease rises

[CharlieH]

 

Winter is fast coming to Gaza. Rain storms and powerful winds have already swept through the coastal strip, scattering tents and soaking those with little shelter in a crisis in which about 1.8 million Palestinians have been displaced by Israel’s offensive.

And with the advent of winter, an already catastrophic situation in which almost all of Gaza’s healthcare has collapsed is quickly worsening.

 

Women are giving birth in tents in unsterile conditions. Smoke from the wood fires is exacerbating respiratory ailments. Those in need of medicine have been forced to go sometimes to up to 10 pharmacies in an often fruitless search.

 

“It’s so cold, and the tent is so small. All I have is the clothes I wear, I still don’t know what the next step will be,” said Mahmud Abu Rayan, displaced from the northern town of Beit Lahia to Rafah.

“We didn’t see anything good here at all. We are living here in a tough cold. There are no bathrooms. We are sleeping on the sand,” added Soad Qarmoot, a Palestinian woman who was also forced to leave Beit Lahia.

“I am a cancer patient,” Qarmoot said as children circled a wood fire for warmth. “There is no mattress for me to sleep on. I am sleeping on the sand. It’s freezing.”

Displaced Palestinians who spoke in Rafah in recent days, tell a similar story: a perfect storm of colder weather, hugely overcrowded and insanitary conditions and a lack of food and proper shelter.

Communicable diseases are increasing alarmingly, according to surveillance data shared by the World Health Organization. There is bloody diarrhoea, respiratory infections, jaundice, hepatitis A and meningitis. A shortage of antibiotics is driving deaths from post-operative infections among the wounded. The chronically ill, unable to access care and medication are dying often unrecorded as victims of the war.

The mother of Ramzy S, aged 54 years, who had been evacuated from northern Gaza to Rafah, was one of those cases.

“My mother died last week,” Ramzy told the Guardian. “She had high blood pressure and diabetes. We’re living in bad conditions in a Rafah UNRWA shelter. We’re in tents, lacking the most basic things we need, and everything is hard to get.

 

FULL STORY

 

[Neeranam]

55 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

1.8 million Palestinians have been displaced by Israel’s offensive

Something not quite proportionate here.

[Bkk Brian]

5 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Something not quite proportionate here.

Ask your mates Hamas @Neeranam, they keep moving to where the population goes.

[Celsius]

That's a shame.

 

 

[Neeranam]

6 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

Can't help but wonder if that hasn't been the plan all along, given that Israel seems to have had plenty of advance warning that something was brewing.

 

It's looking more and more likely, with the whole world appalled by their continued cleansing of Gaza

 

[Morch]

51 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Something not quite proportionate here.

 

@Neeranam

 

Not quite proportionate in relations to what? As opposed to what?

[Bkk Brian]

17 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

Can't help but wonder if that hasn't been the plan all along, given that Israel seems to have had plenty of advance warning that something was brewing.

 

Here come the conspiracy theories...........

[Bkk Brian]

Just now, impulse said:

 

You can believe the world famous, ultra competent, Israeli intelligence services got caught flat footed in spite of about a year of a buildup.  In their own backyard no less- where they no doubt have significant undercover assets on the ground, more assets in the air and in space.

 

I'm skeptical.

 

No I believe the facts with no need to turn to conspiracy theories. By the way, who claimed Israeli intelligence was ultra competent on this occassion?

[Neeranam]

4 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

You can believe the world famous, ultra competent, Israeli intelligence services got caught flat footed in spite of about a year of a buildup.  In their own backyard no less- where they no doubt have significant undercover assets on the ground, more assets in the air and in space.

 

I'm skeptical.

 

I'm more so. 

[Trippy]

100% because of hamas.  

[goldenbrwn1]

2 words to blame . Ham Ass 

[wombat]

Did Hamas start this round yes or no?

Why has Stockholm Syndrome become endemic?

[Hanaguma]

Winter?!?  The temperature is 20 degrees celsius or higher every day for the next 10 days. Not the definition of 'winter', at least where I come from... 

[Bkk Brian]

 

 

[Neeranam]

4 hours ago, Hanaguma said:

Winter?!?  The temperature is 20 degrees celsius or higher every day for the next 10 days. Not the definition of 'winter', at least where I come from... 

Well it's cold there and here.  

[cncltd1973]

every generation tries to make peace with Shiite Muslims, every generation learns the hard way that Shiites don't want peace. they need war to establish the Caliphate and Sharia for the next/final world order

[Morch]

6 minutes ago, cncltd1973 said:

every generation tries to make peace with Shiite Muslims, every generation learns the hard way that Shiites don't want peace. they need war to establish the Caliphate and Sharia for the next/final world order

 

IS were Sunni.

[cncltd1973]

25 minutes ago, Morch said:

 

IS were Sunni.

leaving that can of worms on the shelf

[richard_smith237]

33 minutes ago, Morch said:

IS were Sunni.

 

Indeed... and when they massacred 1700 unarmed Shia Iraqi Army Cadets Camp Speicher and massacred Shia villagers around Kirkuk... 

...  We didn't see people take to the streets of London in protest then... 

 

No one is protesting the 360,000 Syrian deaths, most of which are at the hands of Assad's Forces... 

Who is protesting the 227,000 Yemeni deaths ?

 

Doesn't it seem strange that the Muslim world is outraged at the deaths of Palestinians when its at the hands of the Israeli's but not all the other Muslim deaths at the hands of other muslims ?

 

Doesn't it seem strange that woke British liberals protesting the deaths in Palestine, don't protest against human rights crimes in Saudi... or the above mentioned deaths in Syria or Yemen.

 

I'm not condoning any of the actions by Israel, but I am questioning the motives of those who cherrypick their cause to protest for and their inability to see wider bigger issues - as another poster mentioned, there seems to be a sort of Stockholm syndrome occurring... 

 

 

 

Edited December 12, 2023 by richard_smith237

[ozimoron]

2 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Indeed... and when they massacred 1700 unarmed Shia Iraqi Army Cadets Camp Speicher and massacred Shia villagers around Kirkuk... 

...  We didn't see people take to the streets of London in protest then... 

 

No one is protesting the 360,000 Syrian deaths, most of which are at the hands of Assad's Forces... 

Who is protesting the 227,000 Yemeni deaths ?

 

Doesn't it seem strange that the Muslim world is outraged at the deaths of Palestinians, but not all the other Muslim deaths ?

 

Doesn't it seem strange that woke British liberals protesting the deaths in Palestine, don't protest against human rights crimes in Saudi... or the above mentioned deaths ?

 

I'm not condoning any of the actions by Israel, but I am questioning the motives of those who cherrypick their cause to protest for and their inability to see wider bigger issues.

 

 

Or you could actually read links that don't support your echo chamber view of the world.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jun/13/saudi-arabia-golf-human-rights-sportswashing

[richard_smith237]

1 minute ago, ozimoron said:

 

Or you could actually read links that don't support your echo chamber view of the world.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jun/13/saudi-arabia-golf-human-rights-sportswashing

 

Would you suggest there are no human rights abuses in Saudi ?....    

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ozimoron]

Just now, richard_smith237 said:

Would you suggest there are no human rights abuses in Saudi ?....   

 

Quite the opposite. Doesn't my link suggest that?

[rabas]

3 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Well it's cold there and here.  

 

35°C here today.

[ozimoron]

8 minutes ago, rabas said:

 

35°C here today.

 

Well that completely discredits the story then, doesn't it?

[richard_smith237]

41 minutes ago, ozimoron said:

43 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Would you suggest there are no human rights abuses in Saudi ?....   

 

Quite the opposite. Doesn't my link suggest that?

 

Thats what confused me...  You argued with me, accused me of an echo chamber view of the world, then posted a link which completely agrees with me...   

 

So.. why don't people protest the human rights abuses in Saudi, or the 100's of thousands of deaths in Syria and Yemen... 

Yet, 100's of thousands took to the streets in protest of Israels reaction to Hamas ?

Why did no one protest 1700 Shia cadets getting massacred ?

Why was there not a million man march to protect the 7th October massacre of 1200 to 1400 Israeli festival goers ?

 

 

 

 

 

[ozimoron]

45 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Thats what confused me...  You argued with me, accused me of an echo chamber view of the world, then posted a link which completely agrees with me...   

 

So.. why don't people protest the human rights abuses in Saudi, or the 100's of thousands of deaths in Syria and Yemen... 

Yet, 100's of thousands took to the streets in protest of Israels reaction to Hamas ?

Why did no one protest 1700 Shia cadets getting massacred ?

Why was there not a million man march to protect the 7th October massacre of 1200 to 1400 Israeli festival goers ?

 

I didn't argue with you about Saudi human rights abuses. You suggested that the pinko lefty press wasn't reporting on other Muslim human rights abuses so I posted a link to suggest otherwise.

[Morch]

15 minutes ago, ozimoron said:

 

I didn't argue with you about Saudi human rights abuses. You suggested that the pinko lefty press wasn't reporting on other Muslim human rights abuses so I posted a link to suggest otherwise.

 

Comments made by @richard_smith237 above seem focused on protests, not on media reports.

 

[ozimoron]

14 minutes ago, Morch said:

 

Comments made by @richard_smith237 above seem focused on protests, not on media reports.

 

 

old school, huh? If you don't grab a pitchfork and a bbq lantern and hit the pavement it doesn't count?

 

Is this a protest? Anyway, we are off topic I think.

 

US media channels have numerous segments discussing the ethics of accepting money from a notoriously brutal regime.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jun/13/saudi-arabia-golf-human-rights-sportswashing

[Morch]

Just now, ozimoron said:

 

old school, huh? If you don't grab a pitchfork and a bbq lantern and hit the pavement it doesn't count?

 

Is this a protest? Anyway, we are off topic I think.

 

US media channels have numerous segments discussing the ethics of accepting money from a notoriously brutal regime.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jun/13/saudi-arabia-golf-human-rights-sportswashing

 

Not interested in your silly semantics dodging games.

I think @richard_smith237's comments were specific enough.

You chose to deflect, that's all.

[ozimoron]

2 minutes ago, Morch said:

 

Not interested in your silly semantics dodging games.

I think @richard_smith237's comments were specific enough.

You chose to deflect, that's all.

 

So you're on board with thinking that no significant protests against, say the Saudi abuses or the Turkish and Syrian slaughter of Kurds occurred in the west?