“Rapha humanitarian facilities close one after another… “Humanitarian aid supplies flowing into Gaza were already insufficient to meet surging demand, but have fallen by 67% since May 7,” the UN Relief Coordination Office reported. OCHAThere were reports that kitchens, clinics and hospitals were closing.
Until Israeli forces captured and closed the Rafah border crossing at the southernmost tip of the Strip, it was the main entry point for food, water, fuel and medicine into Gaza, and a conduit for sick and injured people to leave for medical treatment.
Powerless to help against the threat of famine
Reflecting these concerns, the UN World Food Program (UN World Food Program)WFP) warned “Currently, stocks at Rapha are very low and mobility is severely limited, so there is little the agency can do”.
The West Erez crossing in northern Gaza is “functional but unreliable”, according to the WFP. Further south, Gate 96 and the Erez intersection are also “inaccessible” and access is “restricted” to the southern area of Gaza. There is a risk that this will lead to the same levels of starvation seen in the North..
tactical advantage
The development comes as the Israeli military said it had secured “tactical control” of a narrow 13-kilometer (8-mile) strip of land between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
A spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces reportedly claimed in a statement Wednesday that rocket launchers were used to attack Israel in the Philadelphia Corridor.
A senior Israeli official also appeared on state radio on Wednesday and said fighting in the Gaza Strip was expected to continue until at least the end of the year.
terrible humanitarian situation
After nearly eight months of war, Gaza’s entire population of 2.2 million people is almost entirely dependent on humanitarian aid, including food.
Although desperately needed supplies have been delivered to the Kerem Abu Salem crossing near Rafah on the Palestinian side, UN humanitarians are concerned about ongoing hostilities, impassable roads, unexploded ordnance, fuel shortages and checkpoint delays.
“Adults and children are beyond exhaustion from constant migration, hunger and fear.,”WFP said In the latest situation update. “They desperately want the war to end. The same goes for humanitarian workers on the ground. “They were scattered, mostly refugees, along with the people they were supposed to serve.”
Aid officials have often reiterated Israel’s responsibility. It is an occupying force that ensures that aid reaches people in need in accordance with international humanitarian law.
Meanwhile, the UN Food Agency confirmed that life-saving supplies and fuel from Egypt crossed into Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing.
“This is an important step, but it requires a sustained approach. “All border crossing points in Gaza must be open,” he said, adding that although some commercial goods had reached the area, “people cannot afford the high prices.”
“More support is needed to get in through the south because people need diversity in their diets, access to health care and water.”
In a recent update, the UN Food Agency said: in the northRelief teams are distributing food parcels, flour, hot meals and supporting bakeries.
central area, WFP is prioritizing hot meals to reach more people with fewer resources. He noted that faster applications are possible thanks to a recently introduced self-registration tool that allows people to update their location.
There are currently only four bakeries operating in Gaza City, with one recently opening in Jabalia to supply bread to the northern region. Of the 17 bakeries WFP operates in Gaza, only 11 are operating due to lack of fuel and other essentials.
The medical situation in Rafah remains critical, and the World Health Organization (WHO) said only one hospital was still operating, citing Al Emirati Maternity Hospital. This compares to three partially functioning hospitals earlier this month. “Najjar Hospital was evacuated on May 7 and Al Kuwait Hospital in Rafah ceased operations on May 27.” WHO Citing the words of the hospital director, reports emerged that this happened after the hospital’s main door was hit and two medical staff died.
Other aid operations shut down in Rafah this week reportedly include a field hospital and kitchen run by UN partners the Palestine Red Crescent and World Central Kitchen.
Al Mawasi Strike
Citing Gaza health officials, OCHA said at least 36,171 Palestinians have been killed and 81,420 people have died in the Gaza Strip since the Hamas-led terrorist attack in southern Israel on October 7 triggered heavy Israeli bombing across the Gaza Strip. He said he was injured.
“Mass casualties” were also reported on Tuesday following unconfirmed airstrikes on camps for forcibly displaced people in the al-Mawasi district on the southwest coast of Rafah. The United Nations aid office, citing the Gaza Strip’s health ministry, reported 21 deaths and 21 injuries.
