Displaced Palestinians huddled in Rafah, southern Gaza, are struggling to secure their basic necessities as aid agencies and several world leaders warned that an imminent Israeli offensive on the city would have disastrous consequences.
More than 1.5 million people, most of whom were displaced from other areas of Gaza, have taken refuge in Rafah, where food and other essential supplies are in short supply due to severe Israeli restrictions on food transportation , fuel, water and humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Despite growing external pressure to end the assault on Rafah, Israel says it will continue a ground offensive in the city near the border with Egypt to confront battalions of fighters from Hamas, the Palestinian group that governs. Gaza.
The United Nations special rapporteur on Palestine has denounced Israel’s planned ground offensive on the city.
“Rafah constitutes the last line of Palestinian existence in Gaza, amid the incessant anguish faced by the people trapped there,” said Francesa Albanese.
Jagan Chapagain, secretary general and CEO of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), warned that the health situation in Gaza is “beyond critical” and that the gap between the needs and available support are increasing.
“Gaza’s civilian population has suffered enough and health care is one of the last rays of hope,” Chapagain wrote on X, warning that many vulnerable people lack essential medical services.
Israel has repeatedly carried out attacks on hospitals and medical complexes in Gaza since its war on the besieged coastal enclave began on October 7, crippling health services for Palestinians living there.
According to the latest assessments from the World Health Organization (WHO), only 11 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are partially functioning – five in the north and six in the south.
On Sunday, the WHO chief said Nasser Hospital, the main hospital in southern Gaza, was “no longer functional” after weeks of siege and deadly Israeli bombing.
To compensate for the loss of essential health services, Palestinian workers set up a mobile hospital in Rafah on Sunday.
