The United Nations (UN) has called for urgent aid to scale up humanitarian aid in Gaza, amid new exodus to Rafah.
According to UN, at least 100,000 displaced people have poured into Rafah in recent days worsening already dire conditions in the southernmost part of the enclave in Gaza.
“A traumatised and exhausted population is being crammed into a smaller and smaller sliver of land,” UN emergency relief chief, Martin Griffiths, warned on social platform X on Friday.
But serious obstacles persist to bringing more aid to those in need amid relentless Israeli bombardment and intense fighting on the ground.
UN humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA) cited reports from Gaza’s health authorities that half of all the pregnant women seeking safety in shelters in the Strip suffered from thirst, malnutrition and a lack of health care.
Also, there is a lack of vaccinations for newborns and one in every two displaced children faces dehydration, malnutrition and disease.
Some 1.9 million Gazans, or 85 per cent of the enclave’s population, have been internally displaced since the start of Israel’s retaliation following Hamas’ deadly terror attacks in southern Israel on October 7.
According to OCHA, the latest wave of displacement was prompted by an intensification of hostilities in the southern town of Khan Younis and central Gaza’s Deir al Balah, as well as evacuation orders issued by the Israeli military.
Some 10 days ago, Rafah was already estimated to be the most densely populated area in Gaza, exceeding 12,000 people per square kilometre, OCHA said, which is more than in New York City.
Despite a UN Security Council resolution recently adopted calling for a scale-up in aid deliveries to the enclave, access to people in need has remained insufficient.
Only 76 trucks entered Gaza from Egypt through the Rafah crossing on Thursday, “well below the daily average of 500 truckloads (including fuel and private sector goods) that entered every working day prior to October 7.
“You think getting aid into Gaza is easy? Think again,” the UN’s Griffiths wrote on X on Friday.
He listed the impediments faced by humanitarians working to help people in the Strip, including “three layers of inspections before trucks can even enter, insufficient entry points, constant bombardment and damaged roads.
“This is an impossible situation for the people of Gaza and for those trying to help them. The fighting must stop.”
Despite the challenges, humanitarians have continued doing their utmost to assist desperate Gazans.
On Thursday, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) distributed food parcels for 10,000 displaced families in makeshift camps in Rafah.
OCHA reported that some 200 community leaders were identified to collect assistance on behalf of surrounding families in their communities, with each parcel covering a family’s food needs for 10 days.
“Incredible to see the collaboration between the team and communities as we race against time to deliver life-saving food in Gaza,” WFP representative in Palestine Samer AbdelJaber wrote on social platform X.
The distribution was set to continue on Friday after time and safety constraints meant that only 45 per cent of people targeted with assistance were reached on the first day.
