{"id":18420,"date":"2024-02-17T04:17:48","date_gmt":"2024-02-17T04:17:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/?p=18420"},"modified":"2024-02-17T04:52:41","modified_gmt":"2024-02-17T04:52:41","slug":"msf-warns-rafah-invasion-would-be-catastrophic-aid-declining","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/2024\/02\/msf-warns-rafah-invasion-would-be-catastrophic-aid-declining\/","title":{"rendered":"MSF warns Rafah invasion would be \u2018catastrophic\u2019: Aid declining"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>MONITORING (SW) &#8211; M\u00e9decins Sans Fronti\u00e8res, aka Doctors Without Borders (MSF), has warned that an Israeli offensive on Rafah would be \u201ccatastrophic\u201d for the estimated 1.5 million Palestinians sheltering in the city.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cRafah is the end of the line,\u201d the humanitarian organization said in a post on X on Friday. \u201cThere is nowhere else to flee.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Meanwhile, The top United Nations court said that it notes the \u201cperilous\u201d situation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, but has declined South Africa\u2019s request for urgent measures to safeguard Palestinians being threatened by an Israeli ground assault there.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cThe Court notes that the most recent developments in the Gaza Strip, and in Rafah in particular, \u2018would exponentially increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare with untold regional consequences\u2019, as stated by the United Nations Secretary-General,\u201d the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said in a statement on Friday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">It said the situation in Rafah \u201cdemands immediate and effective implementation of the provisional measures indicated by the Court in its Order of 26 January 2024\u201d, when it ordered Israel to take all steps within its power to ensure genocidal acts are not being committed in its war on Gaza.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">However, the court \u201cdoes not demand the indication of additional provisional measures\u201d, its statement added.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">PRESS RELEASE: the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ICJ?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#ICJ<\/a> issues its decision on South Africa\u2019s request for additional provisional measures in the case of Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SouthAfrica?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#SouthAfrica<\/a> v. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Israel?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Israel<\/a>) <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/dh9olqXtD9\">https:\/\/t.co\/dh9olqXtD9<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/KLIMOD69uo\">pic.twitter.com\/KLIMOD69uo<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; CIJ_ICJ (@CIJ_ICJ) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CIJ_ICJ\/status\/1758578734091620763?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 16, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">South Africa said on Tuesday that it had lodged an &#8220;urgent request&#8221; with the ICJ to consider whether Israel\u2019s military operations targeting Rafah breach provisional orders the court handed down last month in a case alleging genocide.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Israel on Thursday called on the court to reject the request, saying: \u201cSouth Africa\u2019s unjustifiable claims make clear that its request is not driven by any change in circumstances, nor does it have any basis in fact or law.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>People in Rafah are \u2018desperate, hungry, and terrified\u2019: UN<\/h3>\n<div class=\"card-live__content\">\n<div class=\"wysiwyg-content\">\n<div>\n<div id=\"wysiwyg\" class=\"wysiwyg wysiwyg--all-content css-1kw180w\">\n<p>People in Rafah are in \u201csuch dire need that they stop aid trucks to take food and eat it immediately\u201d, the UN humanitarian agency (OCHA) has said in its latest daily update.<\/p>\n<p>OCHA said that this showed \u201cthe severity of their desperation and hunger\u201d amid the \u201calarming\u201d humanitarian crisis in the overcrowded city in southern Gaza.<\/p>\n<p>Makeshift shelters in Gaza have become congested and people are \u201cdesperate, hungry, and terrified\u201d, OCHA added.<\/p>\n<p>OCHA added that there is \u201can urgent need\u201d for more delivery trucks to enter Gaza \u201cto ensure the entire population\u2019s nutritional requirements are met\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Aid can only enter the Gaza Strip via the Rafah and Kerem Shalom (Karem Abu Salem) crossings, meaning that food deliveries to central and northern Gaza must first pass through Rafah.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Israeli authorities are continuing to block a large shipment of flour for the Gaza Strip at the port of Ashdod.<\/p>\n<p><figure id=\"attachment_18422\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18422\" style=\"width: 770px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-18422 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/gazappl.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"770\" height=\"513\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/gazappl.jpg 770w, https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/gazappl-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/gazappl-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 770px) 100vw, 770px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-18422\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Palestinians lining up for food in Rafah, Gaza Strip, on Friday [Fatima Shbair\/AP Photo]<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Hunger crisis in Gaza at \u2018unprecedented levels, as people run out of even animal feed to eat\u2019<\/h3>\n<div class=\"card-live__content\">\n<div class=\"wysiwyg-content\">\n<div>\n<div id=\"wysiwyg\" class=\"wysiwyg wysiwyg--all-content css-1kw180w\">\n<p class=\"dcr-4cudl2\">Hunger in Gaza has become so serious that people have even run out of animal feed to eat, development charity ActionAid has said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery single person in the territory\u201d is now experiencing extreme levels of hunger, the charity said in a statement on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Riham Jafari, advocacy and communications coordinator at ActionAid Palestine, said the situation will get worse if Israel goes ahead with its planned assault on Rafah.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAid operations will grind to a complete halt, denying a lifeline to hundreds of thousands of people,\u201d Jafari said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe consequences are unimaginable. Governments around the world must do everything in their power to prevent a further onslaught in Rafah and push for a permanent and immediate ceasefire. It\u2019s the only way to stop the indiscriminate killing of civilians, allow aid to enter Gaza and be distributed safely at scale to prevent famine and deadly disease outbreaks.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_18424\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18424\" style=\"width: 1500px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-18424 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/palstenin.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1500\" height=\"999\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/palstenin.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/palstenin-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/palstenin-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/palstenin-768x511.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-18424\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Palestinians line up for a free meal in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. (AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Only 20 aid trucks entered Gaza on Thursday: UN<\/h3>\n<div class=\"card-live__content\">\n<div class=\"wysiwyg-content\">\n<div>\n<div id=\"wysiwyg\" class=\"wysiwyg wysiwyg--all-content css-1kw180w\">\n<p>The rate of aid trucks entering Gaza has dropped significantly over the past week according to data released by the UN humanitarian agency (OCHA).<\/p>\n<p>Between February 9 to 15, on average, less than 43 aid trucks entered Gaza per day, compared with an average of 133 trucks the week before.<\/p>\n<p>The deliveries are still far below the average of 500 trucks per day that entered Gaza before October 7, 2023.<\/p>\n<h6><em><strong>SOURCE: AL JAZEERA<\/strong><\/em><\/h6>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>MONITORING (SW) &#8211; M\u00e9decins Sans Fronti\u00e8res, aka Doctors Without Borders (MSF), has warned that an Israeli offensive on Rafah would be \u201ccatastrophic\u201d for the estimated 1.5 million Palestinians sheltering in the city.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":18423,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[990,1,979,194,982,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest","category-0_swnen","category-humanitarian-crisis","category-world","category-international","category-headline"],"views":92,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18420"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18420\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18429,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18420\/revisions\/18429"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}