As the deadly conflict in Gaza continues, the suicide, mental anguish, and physical toll is staggering. At least 10 people are reported to have been killed and more than 60 injured during clashes with Israeli forces in Rafah, southern Gaza. Israeli security forces then lured a large crowd to the site, where they opened fire, increasing the explosive potential of the situation. Most of the civilian casualties fled to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis for treatment. This overwhelmed hospital has become a specialist in receiving the dead and the wounded as the situation continues to get worse and worse.
Displaced families continue to use the grounds surrounding Nasser Hospital as a refugee camp and emergency hospital. With the enormity of the violence, many encampments have formed. Israeli forces escalated the violence through shooting and the use of tanks. They shamefully fired tear gas directly into tents within the encampments, adding insult to injury for people who have already experienced the loss of their homes.
In an unprecedented and dangerous development, Israel has called for the establishment of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). This foundation would serve to replace the current, patchwork United Nations aid system currently operating in Gaza. Yet, this initiative has received condemnation from a number of prominent human rights organizations for its reported violation of humanitarian principles. Emergency critics have even extended their ire to the GHF, suggesting the organization could be complicit in war crimes.
Violence in Gaza has stretched beyond what happens on the ground. Recent airstrikes have claimed the lives of at least 15 Palestinians overnight and on Friday alone, particularly affecting northern Gaza. Among the targets was a school that had been transformed into a shelter for refugees. At its core, this attack demonstrates the indiscriminate nature of the assaults.
Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for the United Nations, provided an update on the situation, noting a staggering death toll: “Up until 7 July, we’ve recorded now 798 killings, including 615 in the vicinity of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, and 183 presumably on the route of aid convoys.” This grim statistic highlights the breadth and depth of the unrelenting humanitarian crisis that’s raging across the region.
In light of the crisis, humanitarian organizations are warning that the alarming levels of malnutrition that already plague the population are expected to increase. Médecins Sans Frontières reported a “sharp and unprecedented rise in acute malnutrition” within Gaza. The coalition warns against this troubling trend. They connect it explicitly to the chronic violence and deprivation of basic resources.
Dr. Ahmad al-Farra, head of pediatrics at Nasser Hospital, described the dire conditions within the facility: “The situation in the hospital was like it always is during massacres: extreme overcrowding, shortage of medical supplies and medicines, and a very high number of injured compared with the number of doctors.” Yet these comments illuminate the immense pressures that medical professionals are under. In the process, they address the needs of those affected by violence with compassion and integrity.
We’ve really never seen the scale of airstrikes we’ve seen in the last week increased. Consequently, Israel’s military operations have killed at least 57,000 people in their 21 months of engaging militarily in Gaza. Unfortunately, the humanitarian disaster only increases as families endure further trauma of being internally displaced and deprived of access to food, water, and health care.
Nahla abu Qursheen, a resident of Rafah, shared her harrowing experience amidst the chaos: “I still don’t know what happened to our tent. We are still here on the street. Last night was very difficult – missiles and shelling. My children slept on top of each other, just to fit under a single piece of cloth.” Her words capture the reality on the ground for many people who live here and have been historically trapped in the crossfire.
As the international community increasingly monitors this situation, calls for a peaceful resolution continue to undermine an end to violence. Nahla abu Qursheen expressed her desperation: “They say there is a truce, they say! Every day they say it will end today or tomorrow, but it’s all lies. Wake up and stop this war. Enough of the death, the hunger and the constant displacement.”