As the number of Israeli air strikes in the south of Gaza intensifies, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) spokesperson Jens Laerke said during a press briefing in Geneva on Tuesday, “To be clear, intensified hostilities in Rafah . . . could lead to large-scale loss of civilian lives, and we must do everything possible within our power to avoid that.”
The statement was issued as the number of strikes in the Rafah area rose on Sunday and Monday, at the same time as thousands of Gaza residents continue to rush to the southern crossing, including those who escaped fierce fighting in Khan Younis.
Confirming accounts of ongoing heavy fighting in Khan Younis, Tommaso Della Longa of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) reported that 8,000 Gazans who had been sheltering at Al Amal Hospital left on Monday after Israeli authorities guaranteed safe passage.
The IFRC spokesperson said he was sad at the death of Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) aid worker Hedaya Hamad as a result of shelling at the Al Amal Hospital compound last Friday, describing the situation in Gaza as “beyond catastrophic” and “a nightmare” that continues to worsen.
The hospital was besieged for more than two weeks, with no one able to go in or out of the building during that time, and those stuck there trying to survive successive attacks on the facility, principally last Friday, said Della Longa.
Almost 100 individuals remain within the failing health center, including workers and volunteers, as well as elderly patients and those with disabilities who were unable to be relocated.
It is likely that the Hospital will have to close its doors in the coming days, as did Al Quds. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said that 26 hospitals out of 36 have been closed since the start of the war.
At least 27,585 Palestinians have been killed and 66,978 have been wounded in Israeli strikes on Gaza since October 7, according to the Palestinian health ministry.