UN|Griffiths calls for the protection of civilians in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip

Geneva – United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, called for the protection of civilians in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

In a statement reported by CNN on Saturday, Griffiths said that the population of Rafah, which currently numbers more than a million people, has endured “unimaginable suffering, as their homes have been destroyed, their streets have been mined, their neighborhoods have been bombed, and they have been on the move for months, facing bombs, disease and hunger.” .

Griffiths added, “There is no longer anywhere to turn in Gaza. Civilians must be protected and their basic needs, including shelter, food and health, must be met.”

It is noteworthy that the population of Rafah Governorate was estimated at about 250 thousand citizens before the start of the Zionist aggression on the seventh of last October, and has now reached 1.4 million due to the forced displacement of a large number of residents of other areas in the Strip as a result of the continuous Zionist bombing and the prevention of aid from reaching the center and north of the Gaza Strip, and the Zionist aggression on Khan Yunis Governorate in the south The displaced are sleeping in the open or in temporary residences and shelter centers in light of the scarcity of water and food.

Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh had called on the United States of America, the European Union, the permanent members of the UN Security Council and all countries of the world to intervene urgently to prevent the expansion of aggression and genocide crimes to Rafah, which houses about one million and 400 thousand displaced people located in an area of 63 kilometers. They took refuge from various areas of the Gaza Strip, which have been subjected to systematic destruction, displacement, and starvation for five months.

APS