Gaza aid ‘rapidly collapsed’ after Rafah invasion: Refugees International chief
Jeremy Konyndyk says Israel’s Rafah offensive has “proved devastating” for the majority of Gaza’s population caught in the central and southern areas.
Konyndyk, who also served as a US international development official in the Biden and Obama administrations, said aid delivery “rapidly collapsed”, particularly after Israeli forces seized the Rafah crossing in early May.
He said “temporary progress” made after the International Court of Justice’s provisional orders is “rapidly evaporating” making the “famine trajectory … very worrying”.
Since early May aid flows are again collapsing. But this time the impact is greatest in the south and central Gaza, rather than the north.
And most of the population remains in south and central Gaza. pic.twitter.com/7hZwBClqMU
— Jeremy Konyndyk (@JeremyKonyndyk) June 17, 2024
‘Impossible to find warehouses for aid in Gaza’: Refugees International chief
Jeremy Konyndyk says the deteriorating humanitarian situation in central and southern Gaza has been made worse because it is now “almost impossible” for humanitarian organisations to find warehouses, after many had been destroyed.
Last week, Humanity & Inclusion (HI), an organisation that provides humanitarian relief for people with disabilities, said its warehouse in Rafah was “completely bulldozed” by the Israeli army, destroying all of the humanitarian and medical supplies inside.
HI, which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997, said it “strongly condemned” the Israeli army’s actions and that it was “extremely concerned that attacks against humanitarian facilities and operations are becoming a pattern despite proper notification to the Israeli authorities”.
📣Statement: Gaza: Destruction of HI’s warehouse in #Rafah. pic.twitter.com/kTCrGutfLf
— Humanity & Inclusion Middle East - HI (@HI_MiddleEast) June 12, 2024
Tactical pause part of misleading narrative by Israeli army
The tactical pause is part of an ongoing misleading and contradictory narrative by the Israeli military, quite similar to the narrative of evacuations, safe zones across the Gaza Strip where people ended up being killed.
Right now, whether there’s a tactical pause or not, when compared with the number of trucks allowed into Gaza from Karem Abu Salem crossing, it’s less than what is sufficient and what’s needed to help people to combat the difficult living conditions. We’re only talking about four commercial trucks and five fuel trucks. When compared with the greater needs on the ground, this is nothing.
It looks like from the pattern of how it’s happening, it’s either the crossings are closed and no commercial trucks are allowed, or if they are allowed, there are conditions created on the ground to make it very difficult for the delivery of aid.
As of yesterday, about eight law enforcement officials were killed as they were securing the delivery of commercial trucks to the market here in the central area of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
UN rights chief says suffering in Gaza ‘unconscionable’
In a session of the UN Human Rights Council, Volker Turk has addressed Israel’s escalating attacks in both Gaza and the occupied West Bank. “The situation in the West Bank”, he said, “is dramatically deteriorating”, while Palestinians in Gaza face “unconscionable death and suffering”.
In the West Bank, Turk pointed out that Israeli forces or settlers have killed 528 Palestinians since October, and that Israel is arbitrarily detaining thousands of Palestinians.
Turning to Gaza, Turk said Israel’s attacks have been “relentless”, causing “immense suffering and widespread destruction”. He also criticised Palestinian armed groups for keeping captives, including in populated areas, which he said puts both the captives and nearby civilians in danger.
