CAIRO, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Arab League on Wednesday announced the establishment of an emergency humanitarian relief network to respond to crises across the Arab region, as its Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy called for urgent international assistance to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip amid worsening humanitarian conditions.
The network will coordinate with relevant authorities in member states and other humanitarian partners, while inviting all parties involved in humanitarian work to join the initiative, the Cairo-based organization said in a statement.
Fahmy said winter rains and flooding in Gaza had inundated or destroyed 40,000 shelters and 70,000 tents for displaced Palestinians, affecting more than 200,000 people in the enclave.
"I urgently call on the international community to shoulder its legal and moral responsibilities, and on Arab and international humanitarian organizations to take immediate, coordinated action to provide all possible support to save the lives of victims and those affected in the Gaza Strip," Fahmy said.
About 1.4 million Palestinians, or 65 percent of Gaza's population, were living in tents or makeshift shelters. It warned that humanitarian shelter stocks inside Gaza were virtually exhausted, while more than 150,000 tents remained outside the territory awaiting entry, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. ■
