In its latest version warning asked Israeli authorities not to carry out mass evacuation orders from eastern Rafah, the UN aid coordination office, OCHAemphasized that a mass evacuation on such a scale would “not be possible to carry out safely.”
“There are nine shelter sites for displaced people in the area. It is also home to three clinics and six warehouses,” OCHA said in its latest update on the emergency, noting that more than three-quarters of the Gaza Strip is under evacuation orders.
“Any escalation of hostilities resulting from a full-scale assault on Rafah would push the population and displaced people currently living there beyond their limits.”
The warning regarding the Rafah and Kerem Shalom intersection followed an emergency order Stunning from the United Nations Secretary General António Guterres His spokesman said in a statement that later on Monday both sides would “go further” and reach an agreement to end seven months of brutal conflict.
In Geneva, Jens Laerke, a spokesman for OCHA, told journalists that Israeli authorities had not yet granted permission to access the Rafah border crossing.
“We do not currently have any physical presence at the Rafah border crossing because our access to that area for coordination purposes has been denied by COGAT,” he said, referring to the organization The Israeli government monitors aid deliveries in Gaza. “So that means Currently two main routes bringing aid into Gaza are blocked.”
Mr. Laerke further warned that existing humanitarian supplies in Gaza may last no more than a day. He also noted that Rafah is the only point of entry for fuel, without which generators, trucks and communication equipment would not be able to operate.
“If there is no fuel for a long period of time, that would be a very effective way to send humanitarian operations into the abyss,” he continued, noting that Rafah “is in a situation where difficult situation”. “The IDF is ignoring all warnings about [what] This could have implications for humanitarian work across the Strip.”
Famine call
Reflecting those concerns, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that a military strike on Rafah would complicate aid delivery.
“It’s hard to see whether [Rafah] long-term shutdown how aid agencies prevented famine across the Gaza Strip…the ability of families to cope has been destroyed. Families are hanging in the balance psychologically and physically. I don’t remember meeting a single family and I have met many people who have not lost their homes, loved ones or both,” said UNICEF spokesman James Elder.
Women bear the burden
Meanwhile, UN humanitarian organizations have released new data confirming the enormous, negative impact of the war on women and girls sheltering in Rafah.
According to ARRIVE United Nations Womenmore than nine in 10 women interviewed in the southernmost province reported an indescribable feeling of fear, while more than half said they had a medical condition that required urgent care.
“Women and girls in Rafah, as well as the rest of Gaza, are in a constant state of despair and fear,” the UN agency said, adding that an invasion Israel’s ground will inflict further suffering on the 700,000 women and girls in Rafah. “There is no place free from bombs and killing.”
Seven months since Israel began its offensive in response to terrorist attacks led by Hamas, more than 10,000 women are believed to have been killed in Gaza, among them 6,000 mothers. UN Women says about 19,000 children have been orphaned.
The UN agency’s survey of 360 respondents, including 182 women in Rafah, revealed worrying data that more than 6 in 10 pregnant women reported complications, including 95% had urinary tract infections and 80% had anemia. In households with breastfeeding mothers, 72% reported challenges with breastfeeding and meeting their children’s nutritional needs.
Combined pressure
Mothers also said they struggled to protect their children physically and mentally while living in tents and overcrowded households, the UN agency’s data showed.
According to eight out of 10 male and female respondents in the survey, mothers are now more responsible than men for providing emotional support to adult family members as well as children.
