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Published: May 13, 2024
Relief workers are struggling to distribute dwindling food and other supplies to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced by what Israel says is a limited operation in Rafah, where the main crossings near southern Gaza City remain closed.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said that 360,000 Palestinians fled from Rafah over the past week, out of 1.3 million who had sought refuge there before the operation began, most having already fled fighting elsewhere during the seven-month-long war between Israel and Hamas.
Israel has portrayed Rafah as the last stronghold of the movement, disregarding warnings from the United States and other allies that any major operation there would be catastrophic for civilians. Meanwhile, Hamas has regrouped in some of the most devastated parts of Gaza, which Israel previously claimed to have cleared through heavy bombardment and ground operations.
On Monday, Abir Atifah, spokeswoman for the World Food Programme (WFP), said that 38 trucks of flour arrived through the Erez crossing in the west, which is the second access point to northern Gaza. Israel announced the opening of the crossing on Sunday.
However, no food has entered the two main crossings in southern Gaza over the past week.
The Rafah border crossing with Egypt has been closed since Israeli forces took control of it a week ago. Fighting in the city of Rafah has made it impossible for relief organizations to reach the nearby Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel, although Israel insists it allows supply trucks to enter from its side.
Over the past week, the Israeli military has intensified its bombardment and other operations in Rafah, while ordering residents to evacuate parts of the city. Israel insists that this is a limited operation focused on uprooting tunnels and other armed infrastructure along the border with Egypt.
Israeli forces are also fighting Palestinian militants in Zeitoun and the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, areas where the military conducted significant operations earlier in the war.
Atifah said that the WFP is distributing food from its remaining stock in the Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah areas to the north, where many of those fleeing Rafah have sought refuge. Within Rafah, only two partner organizations with the WFP have been able to distribute food, and no bakeries are operating in the city.
She added that "most distribution has stopped due to evacuation orders and displacement and food supplies running out." "The situation has become increasingly unsustainable."
Almost all residents of Gaza rely on food distribution and other supplies provided by humanitarian organizations for survival. Amid Israeli restrictions and violence hindering aid distribution, around 1.1 million Palestinians in Gaza are facing catastrophic levels of hunger, on the brink of famine, with "widespread famine" reported in the north, according to the United Nations.
The director of Kuwait Hospital, one of the last functioning medical centers in Rafah, reported that medical staff and residents living near the facility were instructed to evacuate the hospital. Suhaib al-Hams warned that any evacuation of the hospital itself would have "catastrophic consequences."
Israel has also ordered new evacuations in northern Gaza, even after hundreds of thousands of people fled in the early weeks of the war.
Mohammed Shalabi, director of the Medical Aid Program for Palestinians, a UK-based charity, said he recently received orders to move from Beit Lahiya in the far north to Gaza City.
He said, "I have left my home several times with my parents, both over 70 years old, my three children, and my wife." "The horror and displacement journey is beyond description."
The war began when Hamas and other militants infiltrated southern Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 250 others hostage. They still hold about 100 captives and the remains of more than 30 after most others were released during a ceasefire last year.
The Israeli attack has led to the deaths of over 35,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and fighters in its figures. Israel claims to have killed more than 13,000 militants without providing evidence.
Israel observed a particularly somber Memorial Day on Monday, with ceremonies across the country commemorating fallen soldiers, including more than 600 killed since October 7, most in the initial attack.
During an opening ceremony held today at Mount Herzl Cemetery on the outskirts of Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once again pledged to defeat Hamas.
He said, "We are determined to win this conflict. We have imposed and will impose a heavy price on the enemy for its criminal actions. We will achieve our victory goals, at the heart of which is the return of all our hostages to their homes."
At 11:00 AM, alarm sirens declared a minute of silence, and a formation of four fighter jets flew over Jerusalem and the surrounding areas.
Protesters and dissenters interrupted some of the ceremonies, reflecting growing discontent with the country's leaders that has led thousands of demonstrators to the streets in recent months. Critics blame Netanyahu for security and intelligence failures that allowed the attack to happen, and for failing to reach an agreement with Hamas for the release of hostages.
Internationally mediated talks about a ceasefire and the release of hostages stalled last week after Israel launched its incursion into Rafah. Israel rejected Hamas’s central demand to end the war and withdraw its forces from the territory, stating that doing so would allow the armed group to regain control and launch more attacks like those on October 7.
Netanyahu vowed to continue the assault until Israel dismantles Hamas’s military and governing capabilities and returns all hostages, objectives that remain elusive even after one of the bloodiest and most destructive military offensives in recent history.
The Biden administration, which has provided crucial military and diplomatic support for the assault, expressed increasing impatience, stating it would not provide offensive weapons for a wide-scale attack on Rafah.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned on Sunday that Israel may face a "permanent insurgency" if it does not come up with a realistic post-war governance plan for Gaza. Israel rejected U.S. proposals for the Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza with the assistance of Arab countries, as those plans depend on progress towards establishing a Palestinian state, which Netanyahu opposes.
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