ALEXANDRIA, VA – Islamic Relief USA (IRUSA) has released the following statement:
There are no safe zones in Gaza as Israeli attacks on Rafah force 100,000 people to flee and threaten delivery of new aid supplies, Islamic Relief says.
Rafah as a hub of aid agency operations and its border crossing are a lifeline to the people in the enclave who have been killed in their thousands and are weeks away from widespread famine. Now this area too is facing destruction as the invasion escalates.
The Israeli forces have been attacking Rafah with artillery, ground troops, demolitions operations, and aerial bombardments. The violence is reportedly expanding there. People in the city have been described as terrified amid the attacks and threatened further invasion.
It is estimated over 100,000 people have already fled Rafah but they have no where safe to go. Despite Israel’s assurances that Al Mawasi is a safe zone to which citizens can evacuate, it is not safe at all because no where in Gaza is. If displaced people avoid attacks in Al Mawasi many are still subject to impending famine, lack of shelter, spread of disease, and scarce healthcare availability.
The designated evacuation site of Al Mawasi is a sandy area which is unsuitable for hosting large numbers of displaced people. It is not a good solution for housing the over 1.2 million people who had been crammed into Rafah, many of them starving, injured or sick including women and children.
The healthcare system in Gaza is shutting down with only a third of Gaza’s hospitals partially functioning and the aid system has moved into a new stage of fading, almost at the point of debilitation. Since last Sunday no aid has come into Gaza by land. Israel has sealed the Rafah border crossing which is a key entry point for delivery of humanitarian supplies and aid agencies are almost out of food and fuel in Gaza. The Rafah invasion is amplifying the ongoing Israeli siege and the suffering.
This invasion is already a brutal new chapter in the violence.
Islamic Relief demands the Israeli government reopens the Rafah border crossing reestablishing this vital lifeline to people in Gaza. We call for an end to the invasion of Rafah and an immediate ceasefire to prevent more death across the enclave.
MEDIA CONTACT
Syed M. Hassan
mhassan@irusa.org or
(571) 421-7032 (CELL)
XXX
Islamic Relief USA, based in Alexandria, Va., is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) humanitarian organization. Its mission is to provide relief and development in a dignified manner regardless of gender, race, or religion, and works to empower individuals in their communities and give them a voice in the world. Its programs benefit millions of people each year in more than 40 countries around the world, including in the United States.
Islamic Relief USA meets all of the Standards for Charity Accountability of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, a national charity monitoring group affiliated with the Better Business Bureau system. Islamic Relief USA is on the U.S. government’s Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) charity list, and it is also a signatory to the code of conduct of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.