Toronto, 13 February 2024. The escalation of violence in southern Gaza, and especially Rafah, where more than 1.3 million people are sheltering, threatens the safety of civilians and the delivery of limited humanitarian aid entering Gaza.
Action Against Hunger warns that anything short of an immediate ceasefire and a massive increase in aid would be a historic failure to protect civilians in armed conflict and calls on the international community to take all possible steps to achieve to protect civilians and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid.
“If the military operations in Rafah continue and expand, Action Against Hunger will be forced to suspend its activities in Rafah. Although we work throughout the whole Strip, this is one of the areas where we have the most active operations, and where many of our colleagues are located,” warns Noelia Monge, Head of Emergencies for Action Against Hunger.
“These activities include water trucking, solid waste collection, cleaning services and the distribution of hygiene kits and food – life-saving activities – that would be disrupted, stripping a population of their most basic needs and forcing them to relocate yet again at a time when they need us most. Ten of our staff and their families will be forced to flee, once again, and we will lose access to our newly established office, warehouse, and guesthouse,” she adds.
Over the past four months, Action Against Hunger has provided fresh and dry food baskets, cash assistance and water and sanitation activities to some 320,000 people trapped in Rafah, including pregnant women, nursing mothers, newborns, and families with dependent children.
Disruption of these activities will have devastating consequences on civilians, especially considering that over half a million people are already facing a catastrophic hunger crisis.
The lack of clean water and sanitation are also exposing more people to diarrhea and disease, with The World Health Organisation reporting more than 161,000 cases of diarrhea and almost 246,000 cases of acute respiratory diseases across the Gaza Strip.
To mitigate this crisis, Action Against Hunger teams have provided at least 350,000 people in Rafah with cleaning services, mobile latrines, and solid waste collection and have reached more than 87,000 people with shelter and hygiene kits. However, military operations in Rafah threaten the continuity of these services and a vital humanitarian response for millions of vulnerable people who have no longer have safe place to take refuge.
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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