By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
SvennoJ on 10 May 2024
Edit Thread

Fighter jets, attack drones hammer Rafah buildings as more people flee

More people are leaving Rafah right now, particularly from the central part of the city, as well as towards the west.

Over the last two days, the Israeli military has sent text messages, made phone calls, and dropped leaflets warning people against staying in Rafah city, despite the fact that it has stated its operations are limited to the eastern part of Rafah city.

On the ground, we’re seeing an expansion of military operations. Residential towers and public facilities across Rafah city are being directly targeted by F-16 aircraft and attack drones.

According to eyewitnesses, the eastern part of Rafah city – and the area close to the Rafah crossing – is pretty much cleared of all residential buildings and public facilities, making it easy for the Israeli military to manoeuvre and push deeper inside the city.

There are more reports of civilian casualties arriving to the Kuwaiti Hospital, as well as to field hospitals.

 

Deir el-Balah in for catastrophe as water, fuel supplies dwindle

I think we are days away from a catastrophic situation in Deir el-Balah, similar to what happened in the northern part of Gaza City.

Not only is water growing more limited right now, but so is fuel. Without it, we’ll see a complete shutdown of all means of life. Fuel is also much needed for hospitals in Rafah city. Without it, they will be forced to completely shut down their ICUs and their oxygen stations.

‘Even more unprecedented levels of emergency’: UN on Gaza conditions

UN agencies have said that dwindling food and fuel stocks could force aid operations to grind to a halt within days in the Gaza Strip as key crossings remain shut. The suspension could force hospitals to shut down and lead to more malnutrition, they warned.

The situation in Gaza has reached “even more unprecedented levels of emergency,” Georgios Petropoulos, the head of the Gaza sub-office of UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told reporters in a briefing.


Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital to run out of fuel ‘within 48 hours’

The Government Media Office in Gaza has demanded that fuel be supplied immediately to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital after the administration of the health facility warned that the critical resource would run out within two days.

“We call on all UN organisations and international institutions to urgently supply fuel to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital before it is too late, and we call for immediate and urgent intervention to supply fuel to all hospitals and rehabilitate and restore them before a humanitarian disaster kills thousands of people,” it said in a statement.

It added that was holding Israel, the United States and all relevant authorities fully responsible for any “disaster or real crisis”, which, it said may result in the deaths of patients and children, especially the sick and wounded sleeping in intensive care and nursery departments.


Gaza doctor says health sector on verge of collapse

Dr Saleh al-Hams, director of nursing at the European Gaza Hospital in southern Khan Younis, has given Al Jazeera an update on the depleted medical sector in the enclave. He explained that:

  • The few hospitals partially operating around Rafah are completely overwhelmed.
  • Gaza’s few functional hospitals could be forced out of service within days due to a lack of fuel, which all their generators run on.
  • Hospital shutdowns would mean hundreds of patients receiving intensive care treatment or life-saving respiratory assistance would be cut off.
  • Ambulances are struggling to reach the European Hospital because the main road connecting it to Rafah is blocked due to military operations.



‘Israel’s unlawful Rafah evacuation orders forcibly displaced tens of thousands’

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has called for the “safe and secure” movement of humanitarian aid and fuel into the Gaza Strip.

Underlining the importance of fuel, the NGO said on X: “Without immediate resumption of fuel supplies, all life-critical sectors, including humanitarian, communication, and banking activities, will grind to a halt.”

It added that Israel’s “unlawful evacuation” orders in Rafah “have forcibly displaced” tens of thousands of people. “With the Rafah crossing closed, access to fuel, humanitarian staff, and essential items is cut off,” the NRC said.


WHO chief says Rafah air attack wounded staff member and family, killed niece

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says a World Health Organization (WHO) staff member, his wife and one child were wounded in an air raid that destroyed his home in Rafah on Wednesday.

The staff member’s seven-year-old niece was killed, the WHO head wrote on X.

“This is another devastating example of how unsafe it is in Rafah and across Gaza,” Tedros wrote. “We call for the protection of all humanitarian workers and all civilians. We call for a ceasefire.”