Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Israeli occupation army: A sergeant from the 614th Combat Engineering Battalion was killed in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday.
Israeli media: The government has approved the agreement that includes the release of hostages and Palestinian detainees amid divisions within the ministerial council.
European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre: The earthquake hit at a depth of 58 kilometers, warning of potentially hazardous tsunami waves.
European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre: A 7.4-magnitude earthquake strikes the Mindanao region in the Philippines.
Cuban Foreign Ministry: The clear objective of this escalation is to overthrow the constitutional government of President Nicolás Maduro and install a Washington-aligned authority.
Cuban Foreign Ministry: We warn against the growing escalation by the United States against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Venezuela's request comes in response to the escalation of aggression and the unprecedented US military deployment in the Caribbean.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Venezuelan government has officially requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Israeli artillery shells the northwest of Nuseirat Camp in central Gaza Strip.
Israeli media: The ceasefire has come into effect.

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.

  • x
  • 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

Related News

'Israel' approves Trump's Gaza ceasefire, captive deal

Trump to give speech in Israeli Knesset, says Gaza phase 1 agreed on

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
  • Gaza
  • Refugees International
War on Gaza

War on Gaza

Most Read

A Hamas fighter in combat fatigues stands before the ceremony for the handover of Israeli captives to the Red Cross in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, February 22, 2025 (AP)

Hamas responds to Trump plan, backs Gaza withdrawal, exchange

  • Politics
  • 3 Oct 2025
Mossad’s secret role in Aldo Moro’s 1978 murder revealed

Mossad’s secret role in Aldo Moro’s 1978 murder exposed

  • Politics
  • 5 Oct 2025
The Palestinian resistance and the people of Gaza showed that after combating Israeli aggression for two years, they remain victorious in the face of oppression (Mahdi Rteil/Al Mayadeen English)

Al-Aqsa Flood two years on, a tale of victory

  • Politics
  • 6 Oct 2025
President Donald Trump walks from Marine One after arriving on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump sets record-low refugee cap in new immigration policy shift

  • Politics
  • 4 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
In Five

Read Next

All
Displaced Palestinians watch smoke rise after Israeli military strikes as they gather on the coastal road near Wadi Gaza, in the central Gaza Strip, Thursday, October 9, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Israeli occupation bombs Gaza home, killing 4 and wounding 9

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, right, visit the site of a shooting attack at a bus stop in al-Quds, Monday, September 8, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ben-Gvir warns will topple Netanyahu’s govt over Hamas

Head of Hamas in Gaza Khalil al-Hayya speaks during an interview with AP, in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, April 24, 2024 (AP)
Politics

Deal reached for permanent Gaza ceasefire, end to war: Al-Hayya

Yemeni Ansar Allah leader Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi during his speech on Thursday, Ocotber 9, 2025 (Yemeni Military Media)
Politics

Sayyed al-Houthi: Yemen on alert as Gaza ceasefire takes effect

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS