Rescue team delivering urgent humanitarian aid to Rafah at risk
04/08/14:
Palestinian human rights defenders, joined by international volunteers, are now travelling to Rafah with a Red Crescent
truck to deliver food, mattresses, and water.
“The situation in Rafah cannot continue, people are left with nothing. There is a small window of time, that will
dissolve in two hours, and then no one knows what will happen to all the civilians- the families- who need support.
That’s why we’re going with mattresses, water, and food, these supplies are desperately needed right now.” Stated
Swedish International Solidarity Movement (ISM) volunteer, Charlie Andreasson.
The group, including international volunteers from Sweden, the U.S and the UK, as well as Palestinian Red Crescent
personnel, are taking advantage of the ceasefire to travel from Jabalya down the beach road to western Rafah, with
supplies donated by al-Fatiha Global and Project Akhirah.
Arwa Wael, resident of western Rafah, spoke to the ISM and stated that, “thousands of people were forced to leave the
eastern side of Rafah travelling to what they thought to be the safe western side. Thousands have taken shelter in UNRWA
schools, relative, and friends homes. Inspite of this, these places were attacked by Israeli warplanes and many people
were killed in a very short period of time, including 10 members of the Zorod family. Now we are staying without
electricity, without water and without food. Due to the shelling of the Abu Yousef Al-Najjar hospital, the patients were
evacuated to two clinics, one of which is in the western part. The clinic doesn’t have a morgue, so ice-cream and
vegetable fridges are being used to hold the dead bodies, generators are powering these fridges and are swiftly running
out of fuel.”
In press releases issued by the Gaza Ministry of Health on August 3rd and 4th, reports state that at least 170 people
have been killed and dozens injured in Rafah in recent days. The two maternity hospitals in Rafah, the Kuwaiti Maternity
Hospital and the Emirati Red Crescent Maternity Hospital, are not equipped to deal with the large number of wounded and
dying people, and there is no safe evacuation route to transfer patients to other hospitals in Gaza for treatment.
ENDS