The influx of displaced people threatens to collapse basic services in Rafah

Gaza (Union)

International relief organizations have warned of the collapse of the humanitarian situation in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip due to the massive displacement to the city from the rest of the Gaza Strip.
ActionAid International said in a statement published by the Palestinian News Agency, Wafa, yesterday, that the humanitarian conditions in the city of Rafah, south of Gaza, have reached the breaking point, as more than a million people are gathering in a narrow space, with more of them arriving every day.
The organization explained that hundreds of thousands of Gazans are sleeping in the open, without adequate clothing, in the cold and rain, due to overcrowding in shelter centers and exceeding their capacity.
She pointed out that one tent is shared by more than 20 people, and every day each person is forced to struggle to find food and water, as all residents of the Gaza Strip now face the threat of famine, which increases day by day.
The organization pointed to the catastrophic humanitarian conditions faced by the people of Gaza in Rafah, saying: “The people are living in an indescribable situation. There is no health, no food, no basic necessities of life available, and no sufficient tents for those who came from the central region of Gaza, as they sleep in In the open air, while the cost of purchasing a tent reaches the equivalent of $1,400.”
As for the health situation, the organization indicated that “whoever is infected must remain at home, because there is no place to receive him at all, and there are queues for fresh water, others for salt water, and food, and there are queues for everything.” According to Action Aid, the picture is similar elsewhere in the southern and central Gaza Strip, where raids have intensified in recent days, increasing the number of displaced people.
The international organization noted in its report that “the amount of aid entering Gaza is still insufficient to cover this huge level of needs, as approximately 200 trucks carrying food, medicine, and other supplies are currently entering.”
She stressed that “only an immediate and permanent ceasefire will stop the death toll from rising, and allow enough aid to enter those struggling to survive in Rafah and other places in the Gaza Strip.”