Humanitarian crisis in Gaza

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Hello,

Today’s newsletter focuses on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza as Palestinians face worsening living conditions from a lack of clean water, shortage of food and poor sanitation.

Although conflict and war are not the primary focus of Sustainable Switch, human rights issues are covered under the ‘s’, or ‘social’ in environment, social and governance (ESG) developments, which this falls under.?

Additionally, the United Nations’ sustainable development goal (SDG) 16 specifically addresses peace, justice, and strong institutions. While it doesn't explicitly mention humanitarian issues under conflict, it emphasizes the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies, reducing violence, ending abuse, and guaranteeing access to justice for all. Click here for more on SDG 16.

Global calls for a ceasefire in the Israeli-Hamas war have gone unheeded, preventing anything more than a trickle of humanitarian aid from entering Israeli-besieged Gaza as shortages of food, fuel, drinking water and medicine worsen.

Click here for a Reuters rundown of what some U.N. agencies call a "humanitarian catastrophe" enveloping the tiny enclave of 2.3 million people.

“Water is being used as a weapon of war”

Gaza residents are facing severe water shortages. One of two plants to desalinate seawater is shut down for lack of fuel with the other operating at minimum levels, the U.N. ?for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said. Two of three water pipelines from Israel are operating.

Israel initially severed all water supply to Gaza after Oct. 7, when Hamas gunmen rampaged through southern Israel killing around 1,400 people and taking more than 200 hostage. But it says it has restored supplies in southern areas by reopening lines that provide 28.5 million liters of water a day.?

"Water is being used as a weapon of war. Many people are resorting to unsafe sources of water...Clean water in Gaza is either unavailable or available in very, very small quantities," said Juliette Touma, a spokesperson for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA.

"The water is salty. On normal days you wouldn't give it to a donkey to drink. But nowadays you must drink it and let your children drink it," said Ibrahim Al-Jabalawy, 60. "There's no medicine to treat them if they get sick from the polluted water," he added.

Israeli military officials insist there is enough available water and other supplies for all Gazans, and they were in touch with all U.N. agencies to track the humanitarian situation.

In Khan Younis, in the south of the tiny, crowded enclave, nine-year-old Rafif Abu Ziyada said she was drinking dirty water and getting stomach pains and headaches.

"There is no cooking gas, there is no water, we don't eat well. We are getting sick," she said. "There's garbage on the ground and the whole place is polluted."?

Reuters senior correspondent with nearly 25 years’ experience covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Nidal Al-Mughrabi, shares an in-depth report on the living conditions here.

Deteriorating sanitation and pollution

Washing facilities have little water. Toilets get filthier every day. At Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, people said they struggled to find a working toilet within hundreds of meters of the facility. Those they find are dirty.

Basic sanitation is deteriorating with bags of rubbish piling up in the streets between mounds of debris from the rising number of bomb sites.

Garbage workers fear being out in the streets and are unable to reach the main landfills near the frontier with Israel. People forage for firewood to cook depleting reserves of rice and vegetables, near mounds of rubbish.

Outside a U.N.-run school operating as a shelter in Khan Younis, Majeda Abu Rjaila said the pollution and stink was so bad that she could not stand it during the day and would find a place away from the shelter to sit by a road.

U.N. agency leaders saying "enough is enough" demanded a humanitarian ceasefire on Monday nearly a month into Gaza's war, as health authorities in the enclave said the death toll from Israeli strikes now exceeded 10,000.?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would consider "tactical little pauses" in fighting in the Gaza Strip to let hostages leave or aid get through, but again rejected calls for a ceasefire despite international pressure.?

ESG Lens???

Pakistan opened more border centers to speed up the return of tens of thousands of undocumented Afghans, an official said, two days after a deadline to leave or face expulsion expired and ignoring pleas to give the plan a rethink.

The U.N. refugee agency, the International Organisation for Migration and the U.N. Children's Fund expressed concern for the safety of children and families affected by the expulsion, saying a humanitarian crisis was unfolding with winter on the way.?

Quote of the Day

“We cannot remain silent as crimes against journalists are committed and perpetrators evade justice. We call for an end to the targeting of all journalists and will continue our campaigns on behalf of our members and work to ensure that those who commit these crimes are brought to justice.”

Michelle Stanistreet, general secretary at the National Union of Journalists, a trade union for journalists in the United Kingdom and Ireland

ESG Spotlight?

In keeping with the ‘s’ in ESG, today’s spotlight reflects a shared commitment to social responsibility, equity, and fostering inclusive environments in cultural expression.

Members of Britain's community of Somali women have cast aside the conventional roles they say are expected of them with the help of a theater company set up to combat exclusion in performing arts ??.

Artistic director Hannah Abdule, a civil servant, co-founded Side eYe Productions in 2019 to create opportunities she felt were denied to people like her.

Those stories have complex characters that are not defined only by culture or Muslim faith.

"Dugsi Dayz", a comedy about dugsi, or Islamic school, by writer and actor Sabrina Ali, won an award at the Edinburgh Fringe festival in August and will tour England this month, from Sheffield in the north to Bristol in the southwest.

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