OCHA warns that Rafah’s sanitation crisis will only worsen as the weather warms up in the coming weeks. Rafah temperatures have already reached 40 degrees Celsius – where more than a million people are sheltering.
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| People walk past a heap of refuse in Gaza. Photo: UNRWA via unocha.org |
UNRWA reports that most families in Rafah do not even have tents – with many living under sheets of scrap plastic, doing whatever they can to survive. Meanwhile, the agency says people in Rafah are living in absolute fear of what may happen tomorrow.
Sigrid Kaag, Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza told the Security Council earlier this week that an Israeli operation in Rafah would compound an ongoing humanitarian crisis.
OCHA today reiterated that all parties to the conflict must respect their obligations under international humanitarian law – including by taking constant care to spare civilians and civilian objects. This includes allowing civilians to leave for safer areas – and allowing them to return as soon as circumstances allow. But regardless of whether they move or stay, civilians must be protected – and they must receive the essentials they need to survive: food, shelter, health care, and other critical support.
unocha.org
