Last November, Al-Shifa hospital, located in Gaza City, Palestine was brought to a standstill after the Israeli army massively bombed the area around the facility. The hospital was hit several times, then surrounded before being evacuated. The largest hospital in the Gaza Strip was gradually transformed into a camp for displaced people, and now houses some 50,000 people. On site, the medical team is striving to maintain access to healthcare for people and has partially resumed their activities.

The long line is visible from afar, hundreds of people of all ages, most of them holding distinctive yellow or blue 40-litre jerrycans. Some live in tents close to the water truck that attracted the crowd to this spot in Rafah, a town in the south of the Gaza Strip. Others live in shelters up to several kilometres away, and brought wheelchairs, hand trucks, shopping carts and even strollers to carry the vital resource back to their shelters. One visually impaired man has come with his young daughter – the girl leading the way, her father carrying the water.

One month ago, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued provisional measures on 26 January ordering Israel to prevent and punish acts of genocide and ensure that basic services and aid reach people in the Gaza Strip. However, the humanitarian situation for trapped Gazans remains catastrophic. According to local health authorities, the number of people killed in Gaza has risen to 30,000, all while there are no signs of Israeli forces attempting to limit the loss of civilian life or alleviate the suffering of people.

We walk for hours to reach the health facilities. Sometimes we use the donkeys to transfer sick people to the hospital or to the clinic,” says Mahmud Mousa Abu Eram, a Palestinian man from Hebron, in the West Bank.

“There hasn't been transportation in this area for a long time, and even if there is a car to drop us to any clinic, the Israeli army confiscates the cars,” he says.

Ten requirements to avoid an even worse catastrophe

21 February 2024

Statement

New York, Geneva, Rome

(New York, 27 May 2024) We have said repeatedly that no place is safe in Gaza. Not shelters. Not hospitals. Not the so-called humanitarian zones.

We have also warned that a military operation in Rafah would lead to a slaughter.

We’ve seen the consequences in last night’s utterly unacceptable attack.

Whether the attack was a war crime or a “tragic mistake,” for the people of Gaza, there is no debate. What happened last night was the latest – and possibly most cruel – abomination.

Disclaimer: Figures that are yet-to-be verified by the UN are attributed to their source. Casualty numbers have been provided by the Ministry of Health (MoH) or the Government Media Office (GMO) in Gaza and the Israeli authorities. Previous data breakdowns provided in this snapshot of women and children killed were attributed to the GMO based on reported fatalities. The fatality breakdowns currently cited are those that the MoH in Gaza has recently fully identified out of the higher number of casualties they report.

The Secretary-General has condemned in the strongest terms the 26 May air strikes on Rafah hitting tents sheltering displaced people. He is heartbroken by the images of the killed and injured, including many small children. As he has said before, the horror and suffering must stop immediately.