OSLO: Israel’s military attacks around Rafah and calls for a full-scale military assault on the overcrowded governorate, where over one million are displaced, will lead to more civilian deaths and risk the aid system in Gaza coming to a halt, the Norwegian Refugee Council warned today.
‘An expansion of hostilities could turn Rafah into a zone of bloodshed and destruction that people won’t be able to escape. There is nowhere left for people to flee to,’ said Angelita Caredda, the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Middle East and North Africa Regional Director.
‘Conditions in Rafah are already dire, and a full-scale Israeli military operation will lead to even more loss of civilian life. Aid workers have been grappling with insecurity and insufficient aid for months. Attacks in areas where they provide food, water and shelter means this life-saving support will be impeded, if not entirely stopped.’
Rafah, 63 square kilometres in size, is now the most overcrowded governorate in the Gaza Strip with an average densit
y of over 22,200 per square kilometre, five times its pre-conflict levels. Increased access to life saving assistance is crucial for the 1.4 million Palestinians now crammed into the area – or two-thirds of Gaza’s population.
An NRC assessment of nine shelters hosting 27,400 civilians in Rafah found that people had no drinking water, showers, or personal hygiene items. The shelters operated at 150 per cent capacity as hundreds of displaced people spent the night on the street.
Diseases, including hepatitis A, gastroenteritis, diarrhoea, smallpox, lice, influenza, were reported in every location assessed. Expanded hostilities in Rafah could collapse the humanitarian response, according to NRC.
An Israeli ground military offensive in and around residential areas in Khan Younis have also intensified, where the latest relocation orders have pushed people to the outskirts of the governorate and into Rafah. These relocation orders have not included guarantees of safety, accommodation and return, and therefore am
ount to forcible transfer.
‘Repeated relocation orders issued by Israeli authorities over four months of hostilities have forced tens of thousands of people to flee multiple times to areas that are not safe and where shelter is not available,’ said Caredda.
‘Palestinians are being pushed into tiny corners, narrow alleys, and overcrowded shelters while residential areas continue to be pounded.’ NRC called for an immediate ceasefire, which is vital for saving lives and scaling up humanitarian assistance.
Source: Palestine news and Information Agency – WAFA