A/HRC/9/26 page 18 or a group are unable, for reasons beyond their control, to realize that right themselves by the means at their disposal”.39 This is the situation of survivors of the Beit Hanoun shelling and these obligations have not been adequately addressed. 58. The mission notes that the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has confirmed that States parties have a minimum core obligation with respect to health-care services, which includes the obligation to ensure the right of access to health facilities, goods and services on a non-discriminatory basis, especially for vulnerable or marginalized groups.40 Survivors in Beit Hanoun have been made especially vulnerable by the shelling on 8 November and its aftermath and the mission considers that there has been a failure by Israel to comply with this minimum core obligation. 2. The right to an adequate standard of living 59. The Committee has consistently underlined the interdependence of the right to physical and mental health with other rights, including those to minimum essential food, access to basic housing, sanitation, adequate and safe water, and equitable distribution of health facilities, goods and services. Such conditions also undermine the right to an adequate standard of living.41 60. The people of Beit Hanoun, together with all people in Gaza, have experienced a severe undermining of these core requirements during the blockade. For the victims of Beit Hanoun, the impact of these violations has been exacerbated by the consequences of the shelling. For example, where there is such high unemployment, a person with the severe physical or mental injuries suffered by many of the survivors of the shelling is unlikely to be employed, a situation confirmed by witnesses. Some survivors have incurred greater financial obligations by having to undertake the care of orphaned children or other dependants, and their desperate financial situation causes them further stress. Many of the survivors are living on relief handouts, from relief agencies or from family members. This condition is both uncertain and humiliating. 61. The Committee emphasized the essential role of international cooperation under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in particular States parties’ joint and individual responsibility in providing disaster relief and humanitarian assistance in times of emergency.42 The mission observed the appalling humanitarian consequences of the blockade, exacerbated in the case of Beit Hanoun. This humanitarian crisis is the result of deliberate policy choices of States that are incompatible with States’ obligations under the Covenant. All States parties to the Covenant are reminded of their obligations under it. 39 General comment No. 14 on the right to the highest attainable standard of health, 2000, para. 37. 40 Ibid., para. 43. 41 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, art. 11. 42 General comment No. 14, para. 40.