Besieged, isolated, and almost without food or fuel stocks. This is Rafáh, the southern territory of the Gaza Strip bordering Egypt. He closure of the passage to EgyptPrecisely, decreed by the Israeli authorities on Monday, May 6, may force the suspension of operations in hospitals due to the lack of fuel, the UN has warned in recent hours. The fuel shortage would also lead to the almost immediate closure of 17 health centers of the UN organization for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) and 10 mobile clinics.
The closure by Israeli forces of the border crossing between Rafah and Egypt for five days has prevented the entry of vital humanitarian aid, supplies and fuel, fundamental for the operation of hospitals and water desalination plants who remain in Gaza.
The lack of fuel is pressing, but so is the shortage of humanitarian food pantries. The World Food Program will be left with nothing to distribute in the southern Strip on Saturday unless it receives more help. This Friday, eight of the 12 bakeries supported by international organizations in the southern half of Gaza have had to close due to lack of fuel and ingredients, and the four that continue to operate, in Rafah and Deir al Balah (center of the strip) could have to stop its activity on Monday.
Forcibly displaced
Evacuation orders in Rafah issued by Israeli forces on May 6 have already caused the exodus of some 110,000 people. “The roads to there are clogged with hundreds of trucks, buses, cars and cars loaded with people with all their possessions”, because the situation is increasingly perceived as more dangerous.
The evacuation affects a territory in which 1.4 million Palestinians had sought refuge since the Israeli military operation against Hamas began, but the bombings and constant confrontations are producing a disorderly exodus which exposes the displaced to diseases, infections, malnutrition.
“For five days, no fuel and virtually no humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip, and we are hitting the bottom of the barrel” described UNICEF Senior Emergency Coordinator in the Gaza Strip, Hamish Young.
The head of Unicef warned this Friday that in a matter of about 48 hours if the flow of humanitarian aid cannot be restored “The maternity hospital of a facility like the Emirati Hospital, where about 80 babies are born a day, will stop operating, and many pregnant women are being left without options to be able to give birth in safe conditions,” he said. The spokesperson recalled that some 14,000 children have died in the conflict, and warned that “a ground offensive in Rafah will cause this number to increase significantly. dramatic.”
UN experts have recalled that Al-Mawasi, where the evacuees have been ordered to go, no longer have food, water, medicine, hygiene products, electricity, shelter or access to education. And, in this situation, they urged the “States with influence over Israel” to stop this “disastrous campaign” by cutting off arms supplies to Israel, withdrawing investments and political support.
“An epic humanitarian disaster”
Meanwhile, Israeli tanks are besieging Rafah and the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, warned this Friday that the ground invasion of Rafah could provoke “an epic humanitarian disaster.”
“A massive ground attack on Rafah would cause an epic humanitarian disaster and destroy our efforts to help the population in the face of imminent famine”, Guterres declared. “International humanitarian law is impeccable: civilians must be protected,” he recalled.
