Families are fleeing Rafah, a city where over 1.5 million Palestinians have already been sheltering, to escape Israel’s expected military offensive. People were told to evacuate and head to Al Mawasi, a stretch of land only half a mile wide. Despite the dangers, Action Against Hunger will remain in Rafah and continue providing as much humanitarian aid as possible.
“Following the recent evacuation order, Action Against Hunger condemns a possible ground offensive in Rafah, which will result in thousands of deathsand prevent life-saving aid from reaching the most vulnerable in Gaza,” says Natalia Anguera Ruiz, Action Against Hunger’s Head of Operations for the Middle East. “The consequences of the offensive will be catastrophic. We are barely managing to provide aid currently.”
Many people living in Rafah have fled other parts of the Gaza Strip to avoid violence and conflict. Most families are living in tents and without access to clean drinking water, sufficient food, and medicine. A ground offensive in Rafah will only lead to death, destruction, hunger, displacement, and loss in Gaza. It will prevent Action Against Hunger and other humanitarian workers from easily accessing the families who need immediate assistance, especially those already facing dangerous living conditions.
So far, around 100,000 people in the eastern part of Rafah have received orders to evacuate, including several members of Action Against Hunger’s staff. Action Against Hunger staff say that they are doing everything in their power to support the team in this extremely dire situation, and have already prepared an alternative refuge for staff and their families in a safer zone. The organization says that this will allow them to continue their tireless commitment to the victims of the conflict.
One of Action Against Hunger’s emergency team members, who recently returned from Gaza, says that over a million people in Rafah have “already lost everything: their houses, their savings, everything they built in recent decades. Everything is destroyed, all the health centres, schools, and public services. ”
She adds, “There are a lot of people crowded together in places where you’re not meant to live, basically on a desert, without means of subsistence, where you can’t grow crops. There’s no irrigation or safe drinking water. I think of our colleagues and other people who have already displaced multiple times to get to Rafah and will have to take their children, carry them, and walk again. There are no more safe areas to go to.”
Across Gaza, men, women, and children are on the brink of famine, facing unsanitary conditions as waste accumulates on the streets and the last of the water becomes contaminated. Healthcare is practically nonexistent.
Despite continuous global warnings from the international community about the catastrophic impact of a ground offensive in Rafah, the recent evacuation order will also greatly hinder the ability of humanitarian organizations to respond to the basic needs of the population. Action Against Hunger is calling on all actors to do everything in their power to guarantee safe and unobstructed humanitarian access. Without it, there will be catastrophic consequences not yet seen in the last seven months.
“We urgently recall the need for an immediate and permanent ceasefire; an immediate release of hostages; safe, effective, and unimpeded humanitarian access; and the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure as the only way to prevent further catastrophe.” says Ruiz. “While Action Against Hunger continues to work to provide aid to populations across the Gaza Strip as well as ensure the safety of our staff, we remind the international community that there is no safe place in Gaza.”
Action Against Hunger has been working in Gaza for two decades and has been providing non-stop emergency response to affected families since the conflict began in October. Teams will maintain their presence in Rafah and continue working to provide humanitarian aid to populations across the Gaza strip, as well as to ensure the safety of Action Against Hunger staff.
Action Against Hunger leads the global movement to end hunger. We innovate solutions, advocate for change, and reach 21 million people every year with proven hunger prevention and treatment programs. As a nonprofit that works across 56 countries, our 8,900 dedicated staff members partner with communities to address the root causes of hunger, including climate change, conflict, inequity, and emergencies. We strive to create a world free from hunger, for everyone, for good.
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