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Border crossings have been the ‘lifeblood’ for Palestinians: UNRWA
Sam Rose, director of planning at the UNRWA, spoke to Al Jazeera about the closure by Israel of Gaza’s border crossings. He said Israel’s push to close the Rafah crossing and the Karem Abu Salem crossing – which Israel calls Kerem Shalom – has had “devastating impacts for the people of Gaza who are already on the verge of famine”.
The crossings have been the “lifeblood for the small amounts of goods that have been coming into Gaza since October”. “There’s no ability for desalination plants to operate and provide safe water. There’s no electricity; it cuts off everything,” Rose said.
The UN agency, he added, has a host of immediate concerns, in particular, the fuel shortage in the enclave as well as the humanitarian impacts of the Israeli military operation, which appears to have started in eastern Rafah.
Closure of Rafah crossing a death sentence: Gaza crossings authority
Hisham Edwan, spokesperson for the Gaza border crossing authority, says that Israeli forces have “sentenced the residents of the Strip to death” by shuttering the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
The closure of the crossing, which is a vital aid lifeline for Gaza and the only exit point for sick and wounded Palestinians, is especially grave for cancer patients who need treatment, Edwan said.
More from the UN OCHA on Rafah border crossing
“The two main arteries for getting aid into Gaza are currently choked off,” Jens Laerk says, adding that UN agencies have very low stocks inside the Gaza Strip since humanitarian supplies are consumed immediately.
“If no fuel comes in for a prolonged period of time, it would be a very effective way of putting the humanitarian operation in its grave,” he said.
Rafah’s dialysis patients fear the worst with potential hospital closure
An elderly dialysis patient in Rafah has told Al Jazeera she could die if she is unable to reach al-Najjar Hospital, located within the Israeli military’s declared red zone, as the military intensifies its operation in the city.
The patient, Laila al-Eid, said she and others rely on dialysis treatment at the facility for their kidney conditions and fear they will have nowhere to turn “if the hospital is attacked”. “If I don’t get daily treatment, toxins will spread in my body”, al-Eid told Al Jazeera.
Many more sick and wounded in Rafah, who already struggle to access basic healthcare, are at greater risk with the closure of the Rafah crossing, a vital aid lifeline and the only exit point from the enclave.
Rafah’s Kuwaiti Hospital overloaded with cases, says director
Suhaib al-Hamas, the director of Kuwaiti Hospital, says the facility is teeming with dozens of wounded patients as Israel’s military operation intensifies in the city, reports the Wafa news agency.
The hospital is receiving more patients than usual since the city’s main public health facility, al-Najjar Hospital, is now located within the Israeli military’s red zone and unable to take them in.
But Kuwaiti Hospital does not have enough beds, health supplies, or fuel to remain operational at its current pace for much longer, al-Hamas said in comments carried by Wafa. Even the facility’s X-ray machine has stopped working due to overuse, he added.
Rafah border closure means ‘people will die’
Mustafa Barghouti, the secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, says Israel’s closure of the Rafah border crossing will have a “terrible impact” on the people of Gaza.
He told Al Jazeera that the border closing will deplete already scarce humanitarian aid supplies and cut off the only exit point for thousands of sick and wounded Palestinians, including cancer patients, who need treatment abroad.
“People will die,” Barghouti said. “Die because of these Israeli measures, in addition of course to the possible massacre that could take place if Israel continues its military operation in Rafah.”
He added: “It’s a terrible disaster. This all happens at a time when Hamas declares it has accepted the ceasefire agreement.”
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