UNRWA: Food Distribution in Rafah Suspended Due to Insecurity

Date: 22 May 2024 - 21:46

News ID: ۱۲۷۵۷۱

DUBAI (Dispatches) – The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) says food distribution in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah is currently suspended due to lack of supplies and insecurity.
UNRWA said in a statement on X that only seven out of its 24 health centers were operational and that it had not received any medical supplies in the past 10 days due to “closures/disruptions” at the Rafah and Kerem Abu Salem crossings into Gaza.
Humanitarian workers have sounded the alarm over the closure of the Rafah and Kerem Abu Salem crossings, which is part of Israel’s military invasion of Rafah, the southernmost city of the Gaza Strip where around 1 million displaced people have been sheltering.
The regime seeks to broaden the assault on Rafah despite international warnings over the risk of mass casualties.
The majority of internally displaced Palestinians have been sheltering in Rafah. But over 900,000 people have fled the southern city in the past two weeks.
UNRWA says the rise in the number of displaced Palestinians sheltering in its Khan Younis facilities has occurred since Israel began issuing evacuation orders for Rafah early this month. The UN agency shared photos of its overcrowded Khan Younis shelters.
Simultaneous Israeli assaults on the southern and northern edges of Gaza have caused a new exodus of hundreds of thousands of people from their homes and sharply restricted the flow of aid.
Israel has displaced around 80% of the population of 2.3 million in Gaza since early October. The regime has killed more than 35,600 people there since.