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UNRWA suspends food distribution in Rafah amid Israeli invasion

People walk past the damaged Gaza City headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) on February 15, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) says it has suspended the distribution of food in the southern city of Rafah, citing Israeli attacks and a lack of supplies.

In a statement released on Tuesday, UNRWA said only seven out of its 24 health centers were operational and that it had not received any medical supplies in the past 10 days due to "closures/disruptions" at the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings into Gaza.

Humanitarian workers have sounded the alarm over the closure of the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings, which is part of Israel's military invasion of Rafah, the southernmost city of the Gaza Strip where around 1 million displaced people have been sheltering.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says Israel has killed 85 people in the latest 24-hour reporting period.

The regime seeks to broaden the assault on Rafah despite international warnings over the risk of mass casualties.

The majority of internally displaced Palestinians have been sheltering in Rafah. But over 900,000 people have fled the southern city in the past two weeks.

UNRWA says the rise in the number of displaced Palestinians sheltering in its Khan Younis facilities has occurred since Israel began issuing evacuation orders for Rafah early this month. The UN agency shared photos of its overcrowded Khan Younis shelters.

Simultaneous Israeli assaults on the southern and northern edges of Gaza have caused a new exodus of hundreds of thousands of people from their homes and sharply restricted the flow of aid.

Israel has displaced around 80% of the population of 2.3 million in Gaza since early October. The regime has killed more than 35,600 people there since.


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