With routes for aid into Gaza closed, relief workers say helping displaced people could become impossible
Aid groups have warned of grave humanitarian consequences and drastic cuts to the supply of aid if an Israeli offensive on Rafah goes ahead, after“A military incursion into Rafah could lead to a bloodbath because of how densely populated Rafah has become,” said Tamara Alrifai, the director of external relations for the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa. “Another looming displacement is already creating panic and anxiety among a highly vulnerable population.
“This is extremely concerning as these are the only two crossings open for humanitarian access and commercial goods,” Alrifai said. “If the crossings are closed, this means no commercial or humanitarian supply lines are active, so people in Rafah will not have access to humanitarian assistance. This means we can expect the famine to move south.”early on Monday that it would “maintain a presence in Rafah for as long as possible and will continue providing life-saving aid to people”.
Areej Saqqa, of Euro-Med for Human Rights, said she and her husband had fled Rafah for Gaza’s middle area in the early hours of the morning as the situation had become so difficult. The roads were crowded with others fleeing amid fears of an invasion, she said. Mhanna said the average family in the southernmost part of Gaza had been displaced five times since last October, and those fleeing eastern Rafah were arriving in areas with little to no infrastructure and already struggling to accommodate waves of internally displaced people.
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