Gaza, August 02 (QNA) - There is great apprehension that the shelter crisis in the Gaza enclave could reach an unprecedented catastrophic phase, the Gaza Ministry of Public Works and Housing warned in a statement Sunday.

The Ministry pointed out that almost 410,000 residential units have been partially and entirely decimated, rendering them uninhabitable, coupled with the blocking of access to fundamental necessities and reducing the available spaces designated as the "Yellow Line".

It cautioned that this move could imperil the Strip and turn it into an unlivable zone, thereby precipitating urgent global action to salvage more than two million displaced people.

The statement highlighted that over 350,000 Palestinian families are in dire need of temporary shelters, amid the piling up of almost 60 million tons of rubble, something that hinders evacuation operations and efforts to provide new land for tents.

The statement added that the findings of the Ministry's field tour unveiled a worrisome humanitarian reality inside tents and shelters, where nearly 150,000 families are living in dilapidated tents requiring immediate and urgent replacement.

These tents account for around 60 percent of the existing shelters, as they bear the brunt of the crisis amid shortages of minimum basic services, the statement continued.

The Ministry recalled that the occupation authorities keep obstructing the implementation of the humanitarian protocol and blocking access to temporary housing, as well as construction and repair materials.

Field crews have to depend on alternative and simple solutions, such as wood and plastic sheeting, to conduct preliminary repair operations, the statement said, adding that hundreds of residential units are designated as extremely dangerous and prone to crumbling at any moment over their inhabitants' heads.

As such, the Ministry called the attention of the international community and UN organizations to this situation, clamoring for urgent action to salvage the humanitarian situation.

It called for allowing access to temporary housing immediately and enforcing the humanitarian protocol instantly, in addition to opening crossings for the movement of essential materials and creating conditions for establishing shelter units.

The Ministry further clamored for direct international intervention to provide essential equipment to remove 60 million tons of rubble, so as to make land available for assembling temporary residential units. (QNA)