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Gaza humanitarian crisis needs political solution: UN

Xinhua, May 11, 2016 Adjust font size:

A senior UN official asserted on Tuesday that the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, under a tight Israeli blockade since 2007, needs a political solution besides humanitarian aid.

Bo Schack, director of UNRWA operations in the Gaza Strip, made the remarks in a meeting held with Gaza non-government representatives.

He warned that in the Gaza Strip, there are 1.9 million Palestinians living under blockade for so many years and suffering from high rates of poverty and unemployment, besides daily difficulties of getting electricity and fuels.

Israel has been imposing a tight blockade on the Gaza Strip since the violent takeover of Islamic Hamas movement of the coastal enclave in the summer of 2007. Hamas routed the security forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

In addition to the Israeli blockade, Israel waged three wars on the Gaza Strip that left large destruction in housing and infrastructure. The latest offensive lasted for 50 days during the summer of 2014.

Bo Schack said that UNRWA provides educational and medical services, mainly to fix the schools and clinic destroyed during the last Israeli military operation on the Gaza Strip. Endit