All main crossings in the Gaza Strip are closed: UNRWA

Palestinians who migrated from the neighbourhoods in the east of Rafah and reached the coastal side of the city of Deir al-Balah after the Israeli army took control of the Rafah border crossing on the Gazan side are setting up makeshift tents on the beach while Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip have continued uninterruptedly for 215 days in Deir al Balah, Gaza on May 08, 2024 [Ashraf Amra – Anadolu Agency]

The Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, said, “Key crossing points continue to be closed. They need to be re-opened without any delay.”

He added in a post on X on Tuesday evening, “The area of Al-Mawasi is overcrowded with more than 400,000 people. It does not have the facilities to take more people & is not safer than other parts of Gaza.”

In turn, United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, called on the Israeli Occupation to re-open the Rafah and Karam Abu Salem Crossings immediately.

Guterres said in a press statement, “The closure of both the Rafah and Karem Shalom Crossings is especially damaging to an already dire humanitarian situation. They must be re-opened immediately,” adding, “I urge the Government of Israel to stop any escalation and engage constructively in the ongoing diplomatic talks.”

He added, “Closing the Rafah and Kerem Shalom Crossings at the same time is particularly harmful to the already desperate humanitarian situation.”

“An assault on Rafah would be a strategic mistake, a political calamity and a humanitarian nightmare,” he noted, as the city is crowded with civilians.

The UN announced, earlier on Tuesday, that the Israeli Occupation prevented its crews from reaching the Rafah land crossing in the southern Gaza Strip.

OPINION: Who’s in control of Gaza’s Rafah Crossing and why is it important to Gaza?

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