Insecurity in Gaza is exacerbated by the closure of key border crossings

In its latest warning to Israeli authorities not to obey orders for mass evacuation from East Rafah, the UN aid coordination office OCHA stressed that a mass evacuation on this scale was “unsafe to carry out”.

“There are nine shelters for displaced people in the area. It also houses three clinics and six warehouses,” OCHA said in its latest update on the emergency, which noted that more than three-quarters of the Gaza Strip was under evacuation orders.

“Any escalation of hostilities resulting from a large-scale incursion into Rafah will push residents and displaced people there to their limits.”

The warning related to the Rafah and Kerem Shalom border crossings followed an urgent appeal by UN Secretary-General António Guterres late Monday for both sides to “go the extra mile” and reach an agreement to end the seven-month devastating conflict, his said spokesman in a statement.

In Geneva, OCHA spokesman Jens Laerke told journalists that Israeli authorities had not granted permission to reach the Rafah border crossing.

“We do not currently have a physical presence at the Rafah border crossing because COGAT has denied us access to the area for coordination purposes,” he said, referring to the Israeli government organization that monitors aid deliveries in Gaza. “So, that’s what that means The two main arteries transporting aid to Gaza are currently blocked.”

Mr. Laerke also warned that existing humanitarian supplies in Gaza were unlikely to last more than about a day. He also pointed out that Rafah is the only access point for fuel, without which generators, trucks and communication equipment cannot function.

“If fuel is not delivered for an extended period of time, that would be a very effective way to destroy the humanitarian operation,” he continued, pointing out that Rafah “is in the crosshairs.” “IDF is ignoring all warnings about what this could mean for the humanitarian operation across the Gaza Strip.”

Hunger distress call

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) confirmed these concerns and said that a military attack on Rafah would significantly complicate the delivery of aid.

“It is difficult to see if (Rafah) remains closed for an extended period of time, how aid organizations can avert famine throughout the Gaza Strip… Families’ coping capacities have been destroyed.” Families are hanging by a thread, mentally and physically. “I don’t remember meeting a single family, and I met dozens who had not lost their home, a loved one, or both,” said UNICEF spokesman James Elder.

Women bear the brunt

Meanwhile, United Nations humanitarian workers have released new data confirming the significant negative impact of the war on women and girls seeking refuge in Rafah.

According to UN Women, more than nine in 10 women surveyed in the southernmost governorate reported feelings of indescribable fear, while more than half said they had medical problems that needed urgent attention.

“Women and girls in Rafah, as in the rest of the Gaza Strip, are already in a state of constant despair and fear,” the UN agency said, adding that an Israeli ground invasion would have inflicted even more suffering on the 700,000 women and girls in Rafah “There is nowhere to go to escape the bombings and killings.”

Seven months since Israeli attacks began in response to Hamas-led terrorist attacks, more than 10,000 women have reportedly been killed in Gaza, including 6,000 mothers. According to UN Women, around 19,000 children have become orphans.

The UN agency’s survey of 360 respondents, including 182 women in Rafah, found worrying data that more than six in 10 pregnant women reported complications, including 95 percent with urinary tract infections and 80 percent with anemia. In households with nursing mothers, 72 percent reported difficulty breastfeeding and meeting their babies’ nutritional needs.

Intensifying pressure

The UN agency’s data showed that mothers also struggled to protect their children physically and mentally while living in tents and crowded households.

According to eight in 10 female and male respondents, mothers are now taking on more responsibility than men to provide emotional support to adult family members and children alike.