Children walk in the wreckage of homes destroyed by airstrikes in Al Shati refugee camp in the Gaza. Credit: UNICEF/Mohammad Ajjour

By Joyce Msuya
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 18 2023 (IPS)

The humanitarian situation in and around the Gaza Strip—which continues to unfold as we speak—can only be described as an utter catastrophe.

In just 10 days since Hamas militants attacked Israel on 7 October, the death toll has already exceeded that of the 2014 hostilities, which lasted more than 7 weeks. So far, more than 2,800 Palestinians have been killed, more than 10,850 injured and hundreds are believed to be trapped under rubble.

Israeli authorities have also now confirmed that 1,300 Israelis have been killed and more than 4,100 injured. Nearly 200 remain captive. They must be treated humanely; hostages must be released immediately.

Humanitarians have not been spared. Fifteen UNRWA staff and five from the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement have been killed. UN premises are among the vast number of civilian objects damaged.

As hostilities escalate, these numbers will only rise, and an already dire humanitarian situation will continue to deteriorate.

The United Nations, from the Secretary-General down, is deeply concerned about the situation. Even before the Government of Israel announced that Palestinians living in northern Gaza should leave for their safety, mass displacement had already taken place.

It is now estimated that as many as 1 million people have fled their homes to other parts of Gaza. In reality, civilians have nowhere to go—nowhere to escape the bombs and missiles, and nowhere to find water or food, or to escape the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe.

As civilians are packed into an ever-smaller area, the essentials they need to survive—shelter, water, food, power and medical care—have all but run out.

UNRWA schools shelter more than half of the displaced population in central-south Gaza. UNRWA is doing what it can to address the growing needs, but its capacity is at full stretch. Without more fuel, it will only be able to operate the small desalination plants in those shelters for a few more days.

Concerns about dehydration and waterborne diseases remain high given the collapse of water and sanitation services. Although Israel partially resumed the water supply to eastern Khan Younis over the weekend, other networks are so damaged that they could not deliver even if turned on again.

On Monday, UNRWA secured five trucks-worth of fuel to operate Gaza’s main seawater desalination plants, but this will only keep the facilities operational for a week or so.

Fuel reserves at Gaza’s hospitals have also been almost totally depleted. 20 out of 23 hospitals in Gaza were already only offering partial services. As generators and back-up generators run dry, critical life support systems will shut down and these hospitals—which are filled with the chronically ill and civilian casualties of war—will be thrust into darkness.

As every hour passes, the restoration of essential supplies and services, and the need to get humanitarian assistance into Gaza becomes ever more critical. The Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, is joining a UN delegation to the region over the next few days in pursuit of these urgent objectives.

Humanitarian supplies are on standby. The UN and other humanitarian organisations have stocks of food, water, non-food items, medical supplies and fuel available in Egypt, Amman, the West Bank and Israel ready to be delivered now or within hours.

Emergency funding has also been made available. On 11 October, the ERC approved a rapid response allocation of $9 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund, bringing the total CERF funding for the OPT to $15 million.

The OPT Humanitarian Fund is also reprioritizing an existing allocation of $9 million to respond to the crisis, although this will deplete the humanitarian fund.

The UN will continue to engage with the parties and States with influence to identify urgent solutions to getting humanitarian access to Gaza so we can deliver these supplies; to secure humanitarian access throughout the territory; and to allow UN and NGO personnel in and out of the Strip.

A humanitarian suspension of hostilities would provide the space for this to happen, for civilians to move safely, and some respite from the bloodshed.

We will continue to demand respect for international humanitarian law. Civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected and humanitarian relief must be facilitated, as international humanitarian law demands. We urge all countries with influence to insist on respect for the rules of war and the avoidance of any further escalation and spillover.

And we continue to call for humanity to prevail.

Footnote: This briefing on the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip took place before the devastating bombing of a hospital where more than 500 civilians were killed.

Joyce Msuya is Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator.

IPS UN Bureau

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A refrigerator being transported by cart.

By Joyce Msuya
NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 10 2019 (IPS)

Our planet is heating up. 2018 was the fourth-warmest year on record, with peak temperatures engulfing the planet – from 43°C in Baku, Azerbaijan, to the low 30s across Scandinavia. The last four years have been the hottest since records began in 1880.

It is no surprise, then, that demand for cooling is growing. In just one part of the cooling sector, the number of air conditioners in use is expected to rise from 1.2 billion today to 4.5 billion by 2050 – boosted by the growing spending power of the global middle class.

We should not stop this growth in cooling. Almost one third of the world’s population faces dangerous temperatures for over 20 days a year, while heatwaves cause 12,000 deaths annually.

We need to provide equitable access to a technology that protects against extreme heat, keeps food fresh and vaccines stable, and so much more.

But we are stuck in a vicious cycle. As the planet warms, we need more cooling. More cooling means more power: energy demand for space cooling is projected to at least triple by 2050 – consuming the same amount of electricity as China and India today.

This means more planet-warming emissions – predicted to rise 90 per cent over 2017 levels by 2050. And back to the start of the cycle we go.

There is, however, a way out. A swift and targeted move to clean and efficient cooling can limit climate change, allow us to safely increase access to cooling for those who need it most and, according to the International Energy Agency, save up to USD 2.9 trillion globally through 2050 by using less electricity.

To accelerate the transition to clean and efficient cooling, we need a unified effort. As of last week, we have this effort, in the shape of the Cool Coalition – a new global effort led by UN Environment, the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program, and Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL).

We formed this coalition now because we have an unparalleled opportunity with the Kigali Amendment, which began its work on the first day of 2019.

This amendment is an add-on to the Montreal Protocol, the global treaty that saved the ozone layer. Under it, nations have agreed to phase down the use of refrigerants that are thousands of times more potent greenhouse gases than carbon dioxide.

Cutting down on these gases, known as HFCs, can deliver up to 0.4°C of avoided warming by the end of this century. This is a great result on its own.

However, a strategy that takes advantage of the refit and redesign of cooling equipment to increase its energy efficiency may double the climate benefits. There are also opportunities in “smart” buildings, designed for efficiency and natural cooling. We should look at shifting power for cooling to renewable sources – although without the efficiency measures, cooling would consume all of the world’s projected renewables capacity by 2050.

Coalition members are already acting. UN Environment is promoting clean and efficient cooling through its District Energy in Cities initiative. Rwanda has put in place a national cooling plan that includes standards and labels for refrigerators and air conditioning.

Danish engineering firm Danfoss is rolling out cooling solutions that are more energy efficient and climate friendly. But we need help.

We need national and local governments, businesses and civil society to make concrete pledges to help achieve this transition. The Coalition’s champions are seeking to secure such commitments ahead of the 2019 Climate Action Summit, called by the UN Secretary-General. Join us and help keep ourselves, and the planet, cool.

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