The health crisis will worsen in Rafah as temperatures continue to rise in the coming weeks. For now, The death of two children has already been reported due to the heatthe UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) reported this Monday.
In Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, more than a million people take refuge in extreme conditions of overcrowding, deprivation and precariousness, which now, in addition, They must withstand temperatures of up to 40°C.
Most families in Rafah do not even have tents, and many live under sheets of waste plastic, doing everything they can to survive, UNRWA detailed.
The Agency specified that the displaced people have access to less than one liter of water per person per day for drinking, washing and bathing, compared to the minimum of 15 liters that are considered necessary for daily life.
Many Gazans live in tents in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.
Children pay the highest price
The organization also indicated that at least 17,000 children have been left alone or have been separated from their families since Israel launched a military attack on Gaza on October 7.
With more than 70% of houses damaged or destroyed, most children have lost their homes.
UNRWA noted that schools have become shelters for survival and education has been suspended.
In this sense, he reiterated that children are the ones who pay the highest price of war and stressed that Your future needs protection.
Noting that Gazans live in constant fear of what could happen at any moment, the Agency once again urged an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Civilians must be protected and provided with essential goods
Along the same lines, the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reiterated that all parties to the conflict must respect their obligations under international humanitarian law, which implies protection of civilians and civilian objects at all times.
OCHA added that this protection includes allowing civilians to leave for safer areas and return home as soon as circumstances improve.
“But regardless of whether they move or stay, civilians must be protected and given the essentials they need to survive: food, shelter, medical care and other types of critical support,” OCHA stressed.
