‘We hoped this day would never come’
Save the Children is warning that time has run out to protect children in Rafah following Israel’s evacuation order in advance of the looming ground assault.
“We hoped this day would never come,” said Inger Ashing, CEO of the charity, warning that an incursion would not only risk the lives of more than 600,000 children but would also severely affect the humanitarian aid response for Gaza.
“Forcibly displacing people from Rafah while further disrupting the aid response will likely seal the fate of many children,” Ashing added, urging countries to “act now” to protect civilians and prevent atrocities.
“The government of Israel must abide by the prohibition of forcible transfer and deportation of civilians under international humanitarian law and provide civilians with essential necessities for survival. Now more than ever we need an immediate, definitive ceasefire, implemented by warring parties. There is so much more that can and must be done to save children’s lives.”
A tsunami of evacuees
There’s a very desperate situation right now in Rafah city, particularly in the eastern parts. These are densely populated areas, not only with local residents but also with the thousands of displaced families inside residential homes or those who set up their tents on roads or sidewalks.
What we’re seeing is people by their thousands taking the central road all the way to the coastal road in the western part of the city to move to the evacuation zone. We talked to some of the people who were on their way on the coastal road who describe the situation as a tsunami of evacuees moving into the central area and the evacuation zone in the western part of Khan Younis city.
This is not only happening because of the phone calls, the text messages and leaflets that were dropped by the Israeli military, but it also happens under relentless air strikes and constant artillery shelling of the eastern area of Rafah city. Just within the past few minutes, ambulances were dispatched to pick up the injured and those who have been killed and transfer them to the Kuwaiti Hospital.
As of now, the situation is very catastrophic. There have been unprecedented difficulties in terms of the humanitarian situation, lack of facilities, hygiene, sanitation and all the difficulties of living conditions created by the intense bombing campaign. That has been going on for the past seven months.
Now, these new evacuation orders are likely to further increase the difficulties of these living conditions and increase the chances of more diseases to spread. What’s more important is that shattered sense of safety.
Biden to speak with Netanyahu
A White House official has confirmed to Al Jazeera that US President Joe Biden will have a phone conversation today with Israel’s prime minister. Biden has previously warned Netanyahu that a major assault on Rafah would be a “mistake”.
Egypt warns Israel against Rafah offensive
In a statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry says it has called on Israel to exercise the “highest levels of self-restraint” and to avoid any more escalation at this “very sensitive time” with negotiations for a truce and captive release ongoing.
The Egyptian statement said an Israeli attack on Rafah would create “extreme humanitarian dangers that threaten more than a million Palestinians in that area”. Egypt added that it was in around-the-clock contact with all sides in an effort to find a solution.
Rafah offensive ‘must not go ahead’: UK shadow foreign secretary
David Lammy, the UK shadow foreign secretary, says an Israeli ground attack on Rafah would be “catastrophic”. “It must not go ahead,” the Labour Party politician wrote on X, calling for an immediate ceasefire, release of captives and unimpeded aid to Gaza.
Situation ‘dire’, Gaza humanitarian worker says
Abdalwahab Hamad, the Gaza office manager for the Juhoud for Community and Rural Development NGO, tells Al Jazeera from Rafah that “hundreds of thousands of evacuees” are now fleeing the city after Israel’s evacuation order.
“Gaza as a whole lacks safe spaces,” Hamad said. “Israel has just created a situation [where it reshapes] Gaza’s physical realities. … The obstruction of humanitarian corridors has also created a situation where there is very limited access to aid, water and hygiene for those families.”
Hamad said humanitarian organisations operating in Gaza also face a number of problems.
“We have a highly complex humanitarian supply chain,” he said. “We have ineffective and inefficient delivery of aid to the people who are in need and don’t have the right quantities. This is due to the complications we face both at the receiving side and the supply side as well.”
“We have deliberate delays of humanitarian aid trucks by Israel. To have a proper humanitarian response, we need to have a reliable supply chain, we need to have proper humanitarian access and we need to have the ability to reach those in need.”
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