A new statement has been released by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) of leading humanitarian aid organizations calling for a ceasefire and warning against an Israeli invasion into Rafah. Israel has reportedly given Hamas until March 10 to release all Israeli hostages, warning that otherwise they will launch a ground invasion into the southern Gaza city.
The IASC statement warns: “The health system continues to be systematically degraded, with catastrophic consequences…. Diseases are rampant. Famine is looming. Water is at a trickle. Basic infrastructure has been decimated. Food production has come to a halt. Hospitals have turned into battlefields. One million children face daily traumas.
“Rafah, the latest destination for well over 1 million displaced, hungry and traumatized people crammed into a small sliver of land, has become another battleground in this brutal conflict. Further escalation of violence in this densely populated area would cause mass casualties. It could also deal a death blow to a humanitarian response that is already on its knees. There is no safe place in Gaza.”
