Conditions are ‘deplorable,’ not enough supplies, says Canadian in Gaza Strip

A Canadian living in the Gaza Strip says families are starting to ration food and using toilet water to stay hydrated as little aid is reaching the area amid the war between Israel and Hamas.

Mansour Shouman has been providing updates on the situation in the southern strip and said conditions are deplorable and the limited supplies that are getting through are not nearly enough.

Israel has cut electricity, fuel and water supplies to Gaza as part of a “total blockade of the territory.”

An agreement was reached to allow a small amount of humanitarian aid in through the Egyptian border. “The surprise was there are only 25 trucks; 25 trucks is maybe enough for one or two UN shelters right now,” said Shouman.

“Normally on regular days Rafah border crossing has hundreds of trucks coming in full of food and things to drink clothes … we rely on imports, we do not manufacture,” he added. “We have 2.2 million people here and supplies have not been replenished for two weeks, 500,000 have been displaced. I don’t know what to say.”

It’s estimated that the average person in Gaza right now is only consuming three litres of water per day.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends individuals have access to a minimum of 50-100 litres, but with pipes destroyed and well water coming up salty, the process of getting a container of drinkable water takes many hours. 

Right now there are about 300 Canadians, permanent residents and their families trying to get out. As the situation grows more dire by the day, Ottawa said it continues working with international partners to secure a safe passage through the Rafah border. 

“We are working hard with our allies, the UN and governments in the region to make sure Canadians can take advantage of any window — there are encouraging signs that humanitarian assistants may soon be able to pass from Egypt through to Gaza and this is an important step towards the eventual movement of foreign nationals out,” said Julie Sunday, Assistant Deputy Minister with Global Affairs Canada.

People in Gaza have no choice but to wait for these things to happen, but many feel time is not on their side. 

Twenty-three-year-old Abdalla Hasanen, a Palestinian man, sent CityNews videos of the wreckage left outside his house Friday morning in southern Gaza. Hasanen said right now, people are living hour by hour, not knowing if they’ll be alive tomorrow.

“If I had internet outside I would take you to see people carrying their loved ones over their shoulders to the graveyards. This happens every couple of minutes, that’s a regular occurrence.”

The war that began Oct. 7 after Hamas militants stormed into Israel and Israel vowed to destroy the militant group has become the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides. 

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Thursday that 3,785 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 12,500 others have been wounded. More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, mostly in the initial attack.