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BREAKING
Israeli media: Intense US efforts are being made to resolve differences, such as the issue of the Israeli presence on Mount Hermon and in southern Syria
Israeli media: The security agreement means amending the disengagement agreement, which will also address the Druze issue
Israeli media: Attempts to reach a security agreement between 'Israel' and Syria were among the topics discussed at the Paris meeting
Israeli media: Sheikh Muwaffaq Tarif rejected a US proposal to join the recent tripartite meeting between Tom Barrack, al-Shaibani, and Dermer
Saba News Agency: Two martyred, five injured in a preliminary toll of the Israeli aggression on the Yemeni Oil Company station on Al-Sitteen Street in Sanaa
Senior Yemeni military source to Al Mayadeen: We observed a state of confusion among the enemy's aircraft squadron after Yemeni air defenses intercepted the attack
Senior Yemeni military source to Al Mayadeen: The Yemeni air defense forces succeeded in neutralizing a squadron of enemy aircraft and prevented airstrikes on some governorates
Senior Yemeni military source to Al Mayadeen: Our air defenses and missile forces forced a formation of enemy aircraft to flee the airspace
Member of the Ansar Allah Political Bureau, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti: The Israeli aggression on Yemen will not deter us from continuing to support Gaza, no matter the sacrifices
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Israeli aggression targeted the Yemeni Oil Company station on Al-Sitteen Street, southwest of the capital, Sanaa, with several raids

MSF, Amnesty, others accuse 'Israel' of impeding aid delivery in Gaza

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 20 Feb 2024 23:12
4 Min Read

Avril Benoit, executive director of MSF-USA, warned that a potential invasion of Rafah could result in catastrophic consequences, turning the southern Gaza city into a "graveyard" and worsening the risk of famine.

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  • Palestinian emergency services look for survivors after an Israeli strike on a residential building in Rafah, Monday, Feb. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali)
    Palestinian emergency services look for survivors after an Israeli strike on a residential building in Rafah, Monday, Feb. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali)

At a press briefing by Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Refugees International, Oxfam, Amnesty International, and other groups, Avril Benoit, executive director of MSF-USA, told reporters that a potential invasion of the city of Rafah could transform the southern Gaza City into a "graveyard" and exacerbate the imminent risk of famine.

"The consequences of a full-scale assault on Rafah are truly unimaginable," Benoit told reporters. "Carrying out a military offensive there would turn it into a graveyard."

The city of Rafah, which currently houses 1.4 million Palestinians in tent camps and shelters, is the "end of the line," Benoit said. 

"It's the last hub of healthcare services and humanitarian assistance for the people in Gaza," she said. "Attacking Rafah effectively means cutting off the lifelines of people who have already lost everything except their lives."

Aid delivery impeded by Israeli aggressions

Jeremy Konyndyk, president of Refugees International, stated that due to Israeli strikes, it has become "virtually impossible" for humanitarian organizations to operate safely within Gaza, thereby increasing the risk of famine.

"People, mostly at this point in the north, are already right on the brink of famine," Konyndyk said. "The risk here, if there is not a meaningful humanitarian operation allowed to operate in an unfettered way at scale throughout Gaza, is famine."

"And that famine will occur not because of any natural phenomenon but simply because of the manner in which this war is being conducted and the persistent and intentional denials of humanitarian access principally by the Israeli government."

Konyndyk also highlighted that the idea of safely evacuating the population of Rafah is a "mirage," as there are no other safe destinations available for them.

Read more: UN agencies warn of 'explosion' in Gaza child deaths

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Ceasefire sole solution to crisis

Benoit said that MSF teams on the ground witness patients unable to access necessary medical care due to ongoing attacks on healthcare facilities, and called on the US and other nations to push for a ceasefire.

"A ceasefire is the only way to prevent more deaths and suffering in Gaza," she said. "Our teams on the ground continue to witness patients unable to access the medical care they need due to repeated and persistent attacks on healthcare facilities and their surroundings."

"One of our doctors in Rafah recently told us that she's writing the names of her children on their arms and legs so that they can be identified easily if killed in a bombing," she said.

World Food Programme cuts aid in northern Gaza

Earlier in the day, the World Food Programme (WFP) announced it had suspended aid supplies to the northern parts of Gaza after a convoy of trucks was reportedly looted.

The agency said that a convoy that was on its way to the north after a three-week halt "faced complete chaos and violence due to the collapse of civil order."

The agency is well aware that food and water are already scarce, and the situation in the Strip exposes "unprecedented levels of desperation," as reported by its teams.

WFP said it planned to deploy trucks of food daily for seven days, but on Sunday the convoy had to 'fend off' the starving residents' attempts to "climb aboard our trucks, then facing gunfire once we entered Gaza City."

"Several trucks were looted... and a truck driver was beaten. The remaining flour was spontaneously distributed off the trucks in Gaza City amidst high tension and explosive anger," it added.

The WFP stated that it was compelled to halt the deliveries "until conditions are in place that allow for safe distributions," adding that the decision was not taken lightly because it "means the situation there will deteriorate further and more people risk dying of hunger".

Read more: 'Israel' destroys Gaza UNRWA rehab center for visually impaired

As part of efforts to phase out aid in the Strip, "Israel" has been boycotting crucial aid agencies, including UNRWA, which has been the subject of unfounded accusations by the Israeli regime.

Last Saturday, in an interview with the Swiss newspaper Tamedia, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini stated that the Israeli regime had been actively working on dismantling the agency and that these efforts were part of a "concerted campaign" with long-term political goals.

  • genocide in Gaza
  • MSF
  • war on Gaza
  • Israeli aggression
  • Rafah
  • Médecins Sans Frontières
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  • Refugees International
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