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Gaza: political action needed to resolve
humanitarian crisis
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"We once again call on all sides to take the political steps needed to resolve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza once and for all," said Mr Kellenberger, who was the first leader of a major international humanitarian organization to visit Gaza after the armed conflict started on 27 December.
"Emergency aid is vital for Gaza short-term, but what is needed are the right conditions for economic development." According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, about 1,400 people were killed and more than 5,600 wounded during the conflict.
Many of the seriously injured will be marked for life.
Thousands of Gazans remain homeless, about 300,000 have no access to piped water and the sewerage network in parts of Gaza has been badly damaged.
In addition, the population is facing the danger posed by explosive remnants of war, and this could also complicate the work of humanitarian organizations.
This latest conflict came at a time when the population of Gaza was already suffering worsening poverty, shortages of basic goods and a lack of such basic services as proper medical care and water because of the closures and restrictions that Israel was imposing, particularly since October 2007.
Insufficient cooperation between the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah and the Hamas administration in Gaza had also hit the provision of essential services for the population of the Strip.
"It would not be acceptable to go back to the situation prior to this latest conflict," said Mr Kellenberger.
"Political preconditions must not be allowed to affect recovery efforts.
Israel's right to address its legitimate security concerns must be balanced against the Gazans' right to lead a normal and dignified life."
For further information, please contact
Dorothea Krimitsas, ICRC Geneva, tel: +41 22 730 25 90 or +41 79 251 93 18
Florian Westphal, ICRC Geneva, tel.
+41 22 730 22 82 or +41 79 217 32 80
For information about the Palestine Red Crescent Society, please visit: PRCS website
See also ICRC media contacts
This article on www.icrc.org
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
