UN organisations ready for Rafah incursion

The UN has said that if Israel enters Rafah, it could put many lives in danger and make it difficult for aid groups to help people in that area. However, the World Health Organization is also getting ready in case this happens.

Israel has said many times that they might attack Hamas in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. About a million people who have been forced to leave their homes are living there because of fighting between Israel and Hamas. This fighting started when Hamas fighters crossed into Israel and killed people on Oct 7th.

Jens Laerke, who works for the UN humanitarian office, said it could be very bad for the people in the area and for the work the UN is doing there.

Israel has said it will help make sure that people in Rafah can leave safely. The United States has always said it cannot approve of an attack on Rafah by its friend Israel unless there is a good plan to keep the civilians safe.

Israel has shared some early information with the US, but we haven’t seen a complete plan that gives us confidence yet.

Another person from the US government, who did not want their name to be known, said that the plan from Israel to provide shelter, food, and routes for people to escape needs to be improved.

In Rafah, they are providing help like medical clinics, places with supplies for people in need, giving out food, and taking care of really hungry children in 50 places.

OCHA will try its best to make sure that aid work keeps going, even if there is an attack. They are figuring out how to make this happen.

“A person from the World Health Organization said that they have a plan for Rafah, which includes a new hospital. But they also said that the plan may not stop a lot more people from dying. ”

More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in almost seven months of fighting, it was reported by Gaza’s health ministry.

Rik Peeperkorn, who works for the World Health Organization in the occupied Palestinian territory, said that he thinks the contingency plan is just a temporary solution. “It won’t stop the extra people getting hurt or dying from the military operation. ”

Other plans involve putting medical supplies in hospitals up north in case the three hospitals in Rafah are not working. This has happened many times in the last seven months because of Israeli attacks.

According to WHO data, only about a third of the 36 hospitals that were open before the war are still working to some extent. Israel says that Hamas is using hospitals for military purposes. Israel believes that its attacks on these hospitals are necessary because they have found fighters there. Hamas and medical staff say the accusations are not true.

Peeperkorn said he was really worried that an attack might stop the Rafah crossing from bringing in medical supplies to Gaza from Egypt.

“We are working hard to make sure it stays open no matter what,” he said. WHO has talked to Israeli authorities about this issue.