UNRWA: Limits on Rafah Worsen Gaza Humanitarian Catastrophe
UNRWA warns that failing to fully operate the Rafah Crossing will prolong Gaza’s humanitarian catastrophe, restricting medical evacuations and lifesaving aid.
Palestine, PUREWILAYAH.COM - The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) warned on Wednesday that the continued failure to operate the Rafah Crossing at full capacity will keep the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip from improving, resulting in the continued loss of lives.
UNRWA spokesperson Jonathan Fowler said in press statements that medical evacuations remain extremely limited, while the amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza remains far below what is required, despite the scale of urgent humanitarian needs.
Gaza’s Health System Near Total Collapse
Fowler added that Gaza’s healthcare system has suffered a widespread collapse under current conditions.
Separately, Sam Rose, Acting Director of UNRWA Affairs in Gaza, said the agency estimates that at least 20,000 people are in urgent need of immediate medical care.
Rose warned that delays in allowing patients to leave Gaza for treatment significantly increase the likelihood of death or severe deterioration in their health.
Call for Full Rafah Opening and International Action
UNRWA called for the Rafah Crossing to be opened fully and on a sustained basis, for the facilitation of patient movement, and for the uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid. The agency placed responsibility on the international community to act urgently to prevent further humanitarian collapse in Gaza.
Since October 7, 2023, Israeli occupation forces, with U.S. and European backing, have carried out a genocide in Gaza involving mass killing, starvation, destruction, displacement, and detention—openly defying international appeals and orders by the International Court of Justice to halt the crimes.
This genocide has resulted in more than 242,000 Palestinians killed or wounded—most of them women and children—alongside over 11,000 missing, hundreds of thousands displaced, a man-made famine that has claimed numerous lives, and widespread destruction across most cities and areas of the Gaza Strip. (PW)