The planned military operation in Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza where more than 1.3 million people are sheltering, puts civilian lives at risk and threatens to majorly curtail to ability of aid agencies to provide humanitarian assistance. Action Against Hunger warns that anything short of an immediate ceasefire and a massive increase in aid would be a historic failure to protect civilians, and calls on the international community to take all possible steps to achieve this goal.
An offensive into Rafah and the disruption of our humanitarian activities would have incalculable repercussions, especially when more than half a million people face catastrophic conditions of food insecurity.
In addition, the severe lack of adequate water and sanitation has led to diarrhoea and disease. The World Health Organisation reported more than 161,000 cases of diarrhoea (some 85,000 of them in children under five) and almost 246,000 cases of acute respiratory diseases across the Gaza Strip. An escalation of violence in southern Gaza is a further threat to humanitarian aid operations and the ability of aid agencies to meet the spiralling needs of the population.
“If the military operations in Rafah continue and expand, Action Against Hunger will be forced to suspend its activities in Rafah. This is one of the areas where we have the most active operations, and where many of our colleagues are located,” warns Noelia Monge, Head of Emergencies for Action Against Hunger.
“These activities include water trucking, solid waste collection, cleaning services and the distribution of hygiene kits and food – life-saving activities – and would be virtually disrupted, stripping a population of their most basic needs and forcing them to relocate yet again at a time when they need us most. Our staff and their families will also be forced to flee.” she adds.
Over the past four months, Action Against Hunger has provided fresh and dry food baskets, cash assistance and water and sanitation activities to some 420,000 people in Gaza, including pregnant women, nursing mothers, newborns and families with dependent children.
Our response is already suffering severe constraints in Gaza due to the continuing lack of security, access, supplies and space to operate. However, cleaning services, mobile latrines and solid waste collection carried out by Action Against Hunger have reached at least 350,000 people in Rafah. Other services, such as shelters and hygiene kits, have reached more than 87,000 people.
Action Against Hunger is an international humanitarian organisation fighting to predict, prevent and treat life-threatening hunger. We save the lives of malnourished children, we ensure that families have access to clean water, food, education and basic medical care, and we support refugees in their most basic needs.