GAZA (Palestine Foundation Information Center) Richard Peppercorn, a representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Gaza and the West Bank, said on Wednesday that “an Israeli military attack on the city of Rafah in southern Gaza Strip would cause an unimaginable disaster.”
Peppercorn added in a press statement that “the attack will lead to the complete destruction of the health system in the Gaza Strip.”
He explained that “military operations in this densely populated area will undoubtedly be an unimaginable disaster and will exacerbate the humanitarian catastrophe beyond imagination.” The WHO representative pointed out that “the Organization’s ability to distribute medical aid in Gaza has become limited due to the rejection of many of its requests to deliver supplies.”
According to Peppercorn, only 40% of the Organization’s missions to northern Gaza have been approved since November, and this rate has significantly decreased since January.
He added that “all these missions have been rejected, obstructed, or postponed,” emphasizing that “it is ridiculous to approve only 40% of the requests to send missions from WHO to southern Gaza.”
Since October 7th, the Israeli occupation army has continued its aggression on the Gaza Strip with American and European support, as its planes bombarded the vicinity of hospitals, buildings, towers, and the homes of Palestinian civilians, destroying them over the heads of their inhabitants, and preventing the entry of water, food, medicine, and fuel.
For its part, the Euro-Mediterranean Monitor for Human Rights confirmed that Israeli military attacks have already begun against the city of Rafah in southern Gaza Strip, warning that the genocide has reached Rafah through killing, hunger, and deprivation of health services.
The human rights monitor said that the Israeli occupation army has already killed about 280 people in Rafah, including 155 children and women.
It added that the occupation has also completely or partially destroyed about 220 housing units in the city of Rafah since the International Court of Justice’s decision on January 26th.
The Euro-Med monitor warned that the humanitarian aid that reached Rafah Governorate did not meet the minimum urgent and catastrophic humanitarian needs faced by the Palestinians there.
It added, “Instead of facilitating the access of aid to the Gaza Strip, Israel has escalated its measures to restrict the entry of this aid, and all the residents of the Gaza Strip are now suffering from severe food insecurity.”
The Euro-Med monitor warned of the increasing cases of death resulting from hunger or malnutrition or diseases related to them.
The ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza has resulted in the death of 28,576 people and the injury of 68,291 individuals, along with the displacement of over 85%, approximately 1.9 million people, of the population, according to authorities in the region and international organizations.
