What is the situation of the elderly in Gaza Strip?
The number of old people dying in the region is rising as a result of Israel's ongoing genocide against the Gazanian population. There are now more ways than just airstrikes for the deaths of Gaza's elderly. A systematic and pervasive program of hunger is also used by the occupation, and individuals who are denied medical care—whether due to wounds received during hostilities or age-related illnesses—are also killed.
"In addition to the destruction and killing that we have been experiencing for more than five months, we are now living in severe famine, unlike anything we have seen before," an elderly woman described the specifics of the famine that the people of northern Gaza had to endure. I constantly worry about what my five children and fourteen grandchildren will eat. A true struggle is raging around us over fundamental necessities."
Older people suffer in a hard, harsh, and terrible way. They already suffer the most from disease and aging, and this suffering has only gotten worse due to conflict and devastation. Their frail bodies find it hard to handle. Furthermore, the World Health Organization reports that because of the excessive number of people living in overcrowded tents, hospitals, and schools, infectious diseases have spread among the displaced, raising concerns about the start and spread of the lethal cholera outbreak. The elderly, who already have compromised immune systems and a host of chronic illnesses, are particularly vulnerable to this.