'Time is running out to protect civilians in Rafah,' warn international NGOs in Gaza

EITHERHumanitarian organizations from around the world, led by Amnesty International, denounced this Wednesday that time is running out for international action to “protect civilians and prevent atrocity crimes in Rafah, while ignoring the UN Security Council resolution.”

A statement signed by 13 NGOs that work globally, recalls that “States must act urgently” to ensure the implementation of international resolutionswhile the attacks on the population of Gaza “intensify.”

In the text, the signatories highlight that last week the Government of Israel made clear its intention to expand military operations in Rafah regardless of what was approved by the UN, and this week “Israeli bombings killed at least 31 people, including 14 children, in Rafah only on March 26 and 27″.

“Humanitarian and human rights organizations have repeatedly warned that the planned Israeli ground incursion into Rafah promises to decimate the lives of more than 1.3 million civilians, including at least 610,000 children, who are now in the direct line of fire,” the statement underlines.

The signatories claim that there is “nowhere safe for people to go in Gaza,” as Israeli forces “have repeatedly attacked areas they previously described as 'safe.'”

Aid workers have been killed, aid convoys have been attacked by Israel, and shelters and hospitals supported by the humanitarian community are being damaged or destroyed under Israeli bombing.

Throughout Gaza, they say, “even as humanitarian organizations provide locations for aid operations and personnel to Israeli forces, These areas have continued to be attacked. Aid workers have been killed, aid convoys have been attacked by Israel, and shelters and hospitals supported by the humanitarian community are being damaged or destroyed under Israeli shelling.”

And they point out that the Israeli government's new proposals to force civilians to take refuge on so-called “humanitarian islands” would likely “provide another false pretense of security and would instead squeeze civilians into small, contained, resource-poor areas where are at risk of being attackedwhether they are inside or outside these 'islands'.”

The NGOs attached to this firm denounce that “There is no place in Gaza with access to sufficient assistance and services to ensure survival of the population” and that in Rafah itself, “essential services and infrastructure are only partially functioning, including overflowing hospitals, bakeries, and water and sanitation facilities.”

“A further escalation of Israeli military operations in Rafah would also raise catastrophic consequences for a humanitarian response already paralyzed throughout Gaza, since most of the infrastructure and aid coordination have been established since October 2023 based in that city,” they warn.

The statement emphasizes that “all states have the obligation to protect populations from atrocity crimes” and that the Governme
nt of Israel “has announced its intention to expand military operations there and this risk has further increased since March 31, when Israel's war cabinet approved plans for ground operations in the southernmost governorate.”

While some states have publicly expressed their disapproval, international pressure and diplomatic statements have so far been insufficient to produce results and prevent the planned incursion.

And while “some states have publicly expressed their disapproval, pressure and international diplomatic statements have so far been insufficient to produce results and prevent the planned incursion.”

However, they remember “there is a set of protection measures available to States, which are obliged to respect and guarantee respect for international humanitarian law and human rights, as previously demonstrated in other civilian protection crises.

Proof of systematic attacks?

Meanwhile, the death this Monday of seven aid workers in a bombing of Gaza illustrates Israel's “systematic” aggression against NGOs in the Palestinian territory, International entities also denounced it.

In that attack against a humanitarian operation, Western aid workers died for the first time in almost six months of war, but the NGOs questioned by AFP see it above all as proof of the inability to guarantee the safety of your staff in the ground.

Since the beginning of the conflict between Israel and Hamas (in power in Gaza), on October 7, More than 200 members of humanitarian entities died in Gaza, 165 of whom worked for the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNWRA), according to NGO estimates.

The seven people who died on Monday had just left a warehouse in Dei al Balah, in the center of the Gaza Strip, where they had “unloaded more than 100 tons of food aid“transported by “two armored vehicles that bore the logo” of World Central Kitchen (WCK) and by another vehicle, indicated that American NGO.

The Israeli bombing took place under these circumstances, despite the fact that WCK and the army had previously “coordinated” to guarantee the security of the humanitarian operation.

The Israeli bombing occurred in these circumstances, despite the fact that WCK and the army had previously “coordinated” to guarantee the security of the humanitarian operation, said the entity, which denounced an attack expressly “directed” against the convoy.

Like WCK, several NGOs in Gaza They try to protect themselves from possible Israeli attacks signaling their movements on an Israeli “platform,” explained Benjamin Gaudin, head of Middle East operations for the non-governmental organization Première Urgence.

However, this has not prevented “multiple incidents” from occurring, Gaudin noted.

“Endangered”

According to him, “the aid workers feel in danger in their operations in Gaza” since October 7, when Hamas commandos launched an unprecedented attack in southern Israel, killing at least 1,160 people, mainly civilians, according to an AFP count based on Israeli data.

The Islamist commandos also took about 250 hostages, of whom about 130 remain in Gaza, including 34 who reportedly died, according to Israel.

In retaliation, Israel vowed to “annihilate” Hamas, and its offensive in Gaza has so far caused nearly 33,000 deaths.the majority civilians, according to the latest balance sheet from the Ministry of Health of the territory, governed by Hamas since 2007.

“The level of danger we face in Gaza is unprecedented,” said Claire Magone, spokesperson for Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which in the last six months has reported 21 “bombings” or “incidents” against hospitals or ambulances.

Five Palestinian employees of the organization were killed “in Israeli bombings or by gunfire at an Israeli checkpoint,” he said.

“Unforgivable”

Israel usually barely comments on its bombings in Gaza, but this time its Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, lamented a “unintentional tragic incident.”

Oxfam's Bushra Khalidi was surprised by this response. According to her, the death of the seven aid workers only “underlines” Israel's “deliberate and systematic attacks” against the humanitarian effort.

The death of the seven aid workers only underscores Israel's deliberate and systematic attacks on humanitarian efforts.

“It is necessary to completely review our relations with the Israeli army,” said Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council. “The attack (…) demonstrates either that Israel has no control over its forces,” or that the information provided by WCK “was never communicated” to its army, which “in both cases” is “unforgivable.” , he sentenced.

The Israeli military said it had opened “an investigation” to determine the circumstances of the attack. But several voices, such as that of Caroline Seguin, from MSF, call for an “independent investigation.”

“Internal investigations by the Israeli army into its own mistakes, I don't really see what can come of it”Seguin said.

Oxfam's Bushra Khalidi expects strong “action” from the international community. “Protecting humanitarian workers and ensuring aid is delivered should not be negotiable,” he said, especially at a time when Gaza is on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe.

EFE and AFP