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12/8 Petition to Biden & U.S. Congress

The WHO and other human rights groups have been repeatedly warning that an unprecedented outbreak of disease, infection, and other 100% avoidable health outcomes was imminent in Gaza. Since Israel shut off the main water pipes to Gaza in early October, access to clean water has now become a fantasy. With the intentional, non-stop bombardments of infrastructure, residential buildings, and water reservoirs, Palestinians are now facing, in rapidly increasing numbers, cholera, and other water-borne illnesses. Sewage is flowing in the streets.

Parents, like Osama Saqr, have been forced to give their children polluted water. His 1 year old was already suffering from severe diarrhea when he was interviewed in November. No parent should ever say, “I’m afraid…I’m going to lose one of my children to this poisoning.”

“We will [start to see] more people dying from disease than…from the bombardment”. Humanitarian workers cannot provide adequate help due to lack of supplies and the constant threat of death. From 10/7 – 11/28, WHO noted “an unprecedented number of attacks on health care [facilities and workers in Gaza]”. 

“Children are dying at an alarming rate” due to a lack of “water, food, fuel and medicine [and shelter].” Cholera, specifically, causes severe dehydration which is especially fatal in children. The treatment requires “rapid treatment with intravenous fluids and antibiotics; if left untreated, the disease can kill within hours.” 

Outbreaks of cholera prompted by armed conflict, like in Nigeria, have case “fatality rates as high as 3%, well above [the typical] 1%…most cholera deaths entirely preventable.” According to Cholera Alliance “once a community is exposed to [cholera]…poor access to safe drinking water…increase the risk of [further] disease transmission.” There is a clear connection between the destruction of water infrastructure and cholera. Israel knew exactly what they were doing. 

All cases of cholera require clean water to treat. Gaza’s water is now dangerously high in salinity which only quickens dehydration. Health outcomes for Palestinians with cholera is bleak, and this only one of the epidemics they face. 

The UN has made it clear in the invocation of Article 99 that there must be an immediate ceasefire. “The international community has a responsibility to use all its influence to prevent further escalation and end this crisis”. The “…hostilities…have created appalling human suffering, physical destruction and collective trauma…Civilians throughout Gaza face grave danger”. I agree with UNICEF that “to accept the sacrifice of the children in Gaza is humanity giving up..[and allowing] another utterly avoidable tragedy.” 

I know my letters are unlikely to make you care, but I won’t give up. I don’t accept this genocide to support the fascist, colonial interests of Israel and the U.S. To accept the murder of any Palestinian, regardless of age, is unconscionable.

SOURCES

Human Rights Watch “Israeli Authorities’ Cutting of Water Leading to Public Health Crisis in Gaza”

UNICEF “Cholera: A global call to action”

Cholera Alliance “The association between conflict and cholera”

UNICEF “Children in Gaza need life-saving support”

UNICEF “The war on children resumes – Geneva Palais briefing note”

CNN “In Gaza, disease could be even deadlier than airstrikes, WHO says”

World Health Organization (WHO) “WHO appeals for protection of the health system from further attacks and degradation of its capacity”

Al Jazeera “Diseases spread in Gaza amid water and sewage crisis, cholera feared”

Al Jazeera “Humanitarian conditions in Gaza near collapse as Israeli attacks intensify”

UN “Gaza: Guterres invokes ‘most powerful tool’ Article 99, in bid for humanitarian ceasefire”

The Guardian “How bombings, blockades and import bans caused Gaza’s water system to crumble“

AA “Israeli airstrike hits Gaza water reservoir supplying Rafah neighborhoods”

CDC “Cholera – Vibrio cholerae infection”