Elderly women fled Khan Younis after Israeli forces attacked the city.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs today expressed deep concern that the two main border crossings into the area remain closed amid the continuing uncertainty over the ceasefire in Gaza and the escalation of Israeli military operations in Rafah. The agency noted that local families were "mentally and physically at risk".
In its latest warning, OCHA asked the Israeli authorities not to carry out the mass evacuation order implemented from eastern Rafah and said that such a mass evacuation "cannot be carried out safely".
In its latest report on the emergency, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stated that there were nine shelters for displaced persons, as well as three clinics and six warehouses in the area. The report also states that Israel has issued evacuation orders to more than three quarters of the Gaza Strip.
Any escalation of hostilities resulting from a full-scale invasion of Rafah would leave the current residents and displaced persons living there more than they can bear, the report said.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres' spokesman, Dujarric, said in a statement that the secretary-general urgently called on both sides to "redouble their efforts" late Monday to reach an agreement to end the seven-month-long devastating conflict, and issued a warning about the closure of the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings.
Rafa "on top of the crosshairs"
In Geneva, UN OCHA spokesman Lark told reporters that Israeli authorities had not yet allowed passage to the Rafah crossing.
"We do not currently have any physical presence at the Rafah crossing, as our access to the area for coordination purposes has been denied access to the area by the Israeli Government's Coordination Office for Territorial Activities (COGAT)," he said. This means that the two main routes for the delivery of aid to Gaza have been cut off.
He further warned that the existing humanitarian supplies in Gaza were expected to last only about one day. It was also noted that Rafah was the only point of entry for the supply of fuel, without which generators, trucks and communications equipment could not function properly.
He said that if there is no fuel supply for a long time, humanitarian operations will be in a predicament, and Rafah "is on the crosshairs of being targeted". The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are ignoring all warnings about the possible humanitarian operation in the Gaza Strip.
Warning of Storms
At the same time, UNICEF expressed the same concern, saying that the military attack on Rafah would greatly complicate the delivery of aid.
"It's hard to imagine how aid agencies can avoid famine across the Gaza Strip if Rafah is closed for a long time," said UNICEF spokesman Elder Erd...... The family's ability to cope has collapsed. Local families are at risk both mentally and physically. In my memory, I have not seen a single family that has not lost a home, a loved one, or both.
Women in "despair and fear"
At the same time, UN Women has released new data confirming that the war has had a serious negative impact on women and girls who have taken refuge in Rafah.
More than nine out of ten women interviewed in the southern provinces reported feeling unspeakable fear, while more than half said they had a medical condition that required urgent treatment, according to the agency.
Women and girls in Rafah, like the rest of Gaza, are already in a constant state of despair and fear, and that the Israeli ground incursion will cause more suffering to the 700,000 women and girls in Rafah, who have "nowhere to go and no shelter from the bombing and killing," UN Women said.
More than 10,000 women have reportedly been killed in Gaza, including 6,000 mothers, in the seven months since Israel began its retaliatory assault on Hamas-led terrorist attacks, UN Women said. Some 19,000 children have been orphaned.
A UN Women's survey of 360 respondents, including 182 women in Rafah, revealed disturbing data: more than 6 out of every 10 pregnant women reported complications, 95% of whom suffered from urinary tract infections and 80% with anaemia. Among families with nursing mothers, 72% reported experiencing challenges in breastfeeding and meeting the nutritional needs of their infants.
Increased stress
Mothers also reported that they were physically and mentally trying to protect their children while living in tents and overcrowded homes, according to UN Women.
According to eight out of ten respondents to the survey, mothers now take on more responsibility than men to provide emotional support to adult family members and children.
