May 20, 2024
Cited article by UN News
HRRC advocates for the protection of refugees fleeing Rafah in the past two weeks. Further, we continue to condemn the ongoing attacks in Gaza which have killed and injured thousands of innocent civilians.
News Brief
At least 810,000 Palestinians have been internally displaced, fleeing the southern city of Rafah in the face of Israeli military operations in the city since May 6, said the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). The number is nearly half of the population of Rafah, said UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini.
The UN has repeatedly stated that there are no 'safe' or 'humanitarian' zones in Gaza. The Gazan population, many of whom have been mass displaced, are also suffering from lack of aid and basic humanitarian supplies and the onset of famine with the ongoing war and closure and disruption of key crossings into Gaza. No UN relief supplies reached the enclave on May 19, and only 27 aid trucks entered via Kerem Shalom on May 18, according to the UN agency portal, which also showed that only 33 additional aid trucks have used Kerem Shalom since May 6, and none have entered via Rafah.
According to the Gazan health authorities, at least 35,300 Gazans have been killed and more than 79,260 injured amid Israeli shelling since Hamas-led attacks in Israel on October 7 left some 1,250 dead and more than 250 taken hostage from southern Israel.