Gaza (Union)
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) reported yesterday that more than 810,000 people have fled Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip during the past two weeks.
UNRWA said, in a post on its Facebook page, “Displacement continues in Gaza, and every time families are displaced, their lives are exposed to grave danger.”
She added: “People are forced to leave everything behind in search of safety, but there is no safe area. The shooting must stop now.”
Since May 6, the Israeli army has been launching a ground attack on Rafah, and the next day it announced control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah land crossing with Egypt, causing it to be closed to limited humanitarian aid.
The closure of the Rafah crossing increased the suffering of the population of the Gaza Strip, which is about 2.3 million Palestinians, the Israeli war forced about two million of them to flee in catastrophic conditions, with severe scarcity of supplies of water, food and medicine.
In this context, UNRWA confirmed yesterday that safe and secure access for humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip is essential to confront the severe water shortage faced by displaced families, especially with the rising temperatures.
The UN organization added in a post on the “X” platform that “the health and lives of the people of Gaza depend on the unhindered arrival of aid and an immediate ceasefire.”
She highlighted that safe and secure access for humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip “is essential to confront the severe water shortage faced by displaced families, especially now with the rising temperatures.”
Meanwhile, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry warned yesterday of Israel’s restrictions on bringing aid into the Gaza Strip, noting that Tel Aviv’s control of the Rafah land crossing put aid trucks in danger.
Shoukry’s statements came during a discussion session followed by a press conference with his Greek counterpart, Georgios Gerapetritis, in Athens, where he arrived the day before yesterday, on an indefinite visit, according to two official sources.
Shoukry stressed Egypt’s reliance on Greece’s hoped-for role in pushing within the European Union the necessity of reaching a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, and working in parallel to address the repercussions of the humanitarian crisis in the Strip.
The Egyptian Minister also stressed Egypt’s complete rejection of Israel’s control of the Rafah crossing from the Palestinian side on May 7, which prevented the entry of humanitarian aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip. He also expressed Cairo’s rejection of any military operation inside the city of Rafah.
Regarding the military operation in Rafah, Shukri pointed out that the Israeli military presence on the outskirts of the Rafah crossing and the military actions on the Palestinian side of the crossing put aid convoys and truck drivers in danger, pointing out that the restrictions imposed by Israel affected the safe entry and exit of humanitarian workers from the area. And to the Gaza Strip, he also confirmed that Israeli military operations affect the operation of the Rafah crossing.
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