RAFAH — On
both sides of the roads in Rafah, the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip,
there is an increasing trend in setting up tents for newly displaced persons.
This occurs as the city and its main squares become crowded with refugees who
fled Israeli occupation airstrikes in the central and northern areas of Gaza.
اضافة اعلان
UNRWA
estimates that Rafah alone currently hosts more than 1.4 million displaced
individuals who sought refuge in the city from the northern and central areas
of the Strip, as well as from the neighboring city of Khan Yunis, which has
been under continuous Israeli airstrikes, Al-Mamlaka TV reported.
Before
October 7, the population of Rafah was
around 800,000. The UN has observed scenes of congestion in Rafah and the
spread of tents on both sides of the roads in challenging living conditions.
According to
the
UNOCHA statistics on Monday, the total number of displaced persons in
various facilities in Gaza, including tents, exceeds two million, with 1.72
million in UNRWA facilities and 211,000 in government facilities.
The
facilities accommodating displaced persons total 272, distributed across 155
UNRWA facilities, hosting 85 percent of the displaced, and 117 government
facilities, hosting 10 percent of the total displaced. Additionally, 5 percent
of the total displaced, numbering 96,000, live in tents.
Regarding
the distribution of displaced persons among the governorates, in Rafah, there are
883,000 displaced individuals in 35
UNRWA facilities, 48,000 in 24 government
facilities, and the rest in tents scattered throughout the governorate. In Khan
Yunis, there are 476,000 displaced persons in 30 UNRWA facilities and 69,000 in
36 government facilities.
In central
Gaza, there are 208,000 displaced individuals in 33 UNRWA facilities and 31,000
in 20 government facilities. In Gaza City, there are 48,000 displaced persons
in 32 government facilities and 45,000 in 28 government facilities. The
northern part of the Strip accommodates 112,000 displaced individuals in 25
UNRWA facilities and 18,000 in 9 government facilities.
“The worst place on earth”
UNRWA
spokesperson in the Gaza Strip, Adnan Abu Hasna, says there are 1.9 million
displaced people in various areas of the Gaza Strip, including approximately
1.4 million in 155 schools and shelter centers affiliated with UNRWA.
AbuHasna
adds that there are another 500,000 displaced individuals registered with
UNRWA, whom the agency can reach to assist.
Abu Hasna
says, "Most of the residents of the Gaza Strip are now being pushed to
Rafah near the Palestinian-Egyptian border, and the population of Rafah has now
reached 1.4 million displaced Palestinians, a number likely to increase in the
coming hours to one and a half million Palestinians. UNRWA cannot face the
ongoing collapse."
He
continues, "Gaza is the worst place on earth, and the sector is being
turned into an unfit place to live. The displaced are being pushed to this
area, which is on the verge of explosion, especially as conditions are
miserable on all life, social, economic, and assistance levels."
Abu Hasna
states that
UNRWA is the largest body in providing humanitarian aid to the Gaza
Strip, and despite that, what the agency provides is considered modest in
comparison to the volume of aid that is supposed to reach.
He calls for
a comprehensive ceasefire in the
Gaza Strip, allowing for the entry of
humanitarian aid, opening humanitarian corridors, bringing in more fuel, and
opening the commercial route to the markets in the Gaza Strip.
Regarding
the nature of delivering
humanitarian aid to the areas of Gaza City and the
northern region, Abu Hasna says, "We have succeeded recently in delivering
some aid to Gaza City and the northern areas, but this is not enough because
people there are hungry. Hundreds of thousands of people are hungry, whether in
the northern region or the southern region."
Concerning
UNRWA's ability to provide humanitarian aid to the displaced, Abu Hasna says,
"What is happening not only exceeds the capabilities of UNRWA but also
surpasses the capabilities of countries. The displacement of an entire
population to
Rafah."
He adds,
"What UNRWA provides is little compared to the needs, and the continuation
of the situation in this way and the increasing humanitarian needs push the
overall humanitarian operations to the edge of collapse."
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