UNRWA: We Have Suspended Health Care and Vital Services in Rafah

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) announced today that it has suspended health care and essential services in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, and that its shelters in the city are now empty. UNRWA Commissioner Philippe Lazzarini stated that the agency's shelters in Rafah are empty, emphasizing that over one million people have been displaced "in search of a safe place they have never found." Lazzarini added, in a post on the platform X, "UNRWA has been forced to stop health services and other vital services in Rafah. The agency's teams are now operating from Khan Younis and the central areas, where 1.7 million people live. We have resumed operations in Khan Younis despite the damage to all our facilities." He continued: "In the meantime, we have received horrifying images from the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza. Thousands of displaced persons have no choice but to live amidst the rubble and destruction." Lazzarini concluded by emphasizing that "all eyes are on the proposal aimed at bringing an end to this war through a ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and a significant and safe flow of urgently needed supplies into Gaza."