A few hours and on that road, where an Israeli air raid hit a humanitarian convoy and killed seven World Central Kitchen (Wck) workers, there could have been Federico Dessi, regional director for the Middle East of the NGO Humanity & Inclusion. Together with other operators, Dessi, who entered the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, was supposed to leave at 8 in the morning and travel the same road that leads to Deir al-Balah in the so-called Middle Area. Dessi himself told Adnkronos, explaining that ''the mission was suspended to understand the dynamics of the accident and the reasons why the Israelis bombed a humanitarian convoy''. Dessi explains that ''we had to go to Deir al-Balah, in the Middle Area, the same city from which the colleagues who were killed left last night''.
What happened is ''very bad news for all humanitarian workers'' and before ''resuming this movement it is necessary to analyze the information coming from the UN, from the United Nations security department, from Wck…' '. Mission suspended, therefore, ''until we have security guarantees, guarantees that a similar attack will not be repeated in the future''. But in reality, continues Dessi, ''the only guarantee can come from the ceasefire. Putting an end to the war and allowing the population to return to their homes. Allowing the associations to do their work safely, bring aid in large quantities and especially to the north of the Gaza Strip where very little aid arrives and the obstacles posed by the Israelis are truly many”.
The objective of the Humanity & Inclusion mission was to reach ''the two offices and a humanitarian warehouse that we have in the central area of Gaza. There are 85 people who work for us in this area – explains Dessi – We should have met them, had coordination meetings, visited offices and warehouses''. Furthermore, he explains, ''two colleagues specialized in demining should have left with Dessi. With them the aim was to visit sites where we had been told there were unexploded bombs. And possibly put up danger signs to avoid risks for children and the civilian population in general''. Because in the Gaza Strip, she explains, there are ''thousands of unexploded bombs, fragments of explosives both in open terrain such as on the beach, and under collapsed buildings. People are in danger''.
The non-governmental organization, meanwhile, continues to work in Rafah and on the coast, in Khan Younis. ''In Rafah I saw a catastrophic situation. There are thousands and thousands of people on the street, many on foot or on carts pulled by donkeys'', says Dessi. ''I visited a shelter for displaced people. A school run by UNRWA where there are 5 thousand people crowded together, 4, 5 or 6 families per class. And in the courtyard shacks or tents made with makeshift means'', he explains. ''People are afraid, they are very worried about the daily bombings and the threat of a potential offensive on Rafah which would force them to flee again, but no one knows where,'' he concludes.
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