We are outraged and heartbroken by the recent attacks in West Rafah, where Israeli fighter jets launched eight missiles at makeshift shelters housing internally displaced persons (IDPs) next to UNRWA warehouses stocking vital aid.
These shelters were supposed to be safe havens for innocent civilians, yet they became targets of brutal violence. Children, women, and men are being burned alive under their tents and shelters.
The Civil Defense in Gaza estimates that around 100,000 IDPs are currently in the targeted areas. So far, 50 burned bodies have been recovered as people try to work through the raging fire. We anticipate the number of casualties to rise. The images coming from our partners of burned bodies are a scar on the face of humanity and the global community, which so far has failed to protect the people of Gaza. One of our own ActionAid colleagues narrowly escaped this atrocity, having left the shelter just a day before the attack. But nobody's safety is guaranteed in Gaza.
An ActionAid humanitarian youth activist described the relentless terror: "Even though we've been in the war for, I don't know how many days now, every day that passes feels like the first day of the war. Within seconds, they [IOF] bombed a tent area in Rafah with more than eight missiles. There are no stones or roofs... Only metal and nylon sheets! Hundreds of people thought they are sleeping safely and won't die, so they went to these areas and lived there to escape death. Now dozens of people are dying, and dozens or even hundreds of people or more are injured, but no one knows yet... Not to mention the total burning of everything people own! And how many times has this burning happened?! And this is nothing compared to the number of other crimes that have been happening".
ActionAid condemns this inhumane and barbaric act in the strongest terms. We urgently call for an immediate cessation of hostilities and the protection of civilians. We stand in solidarity with the people of Gaza and urge the international community to take swift action to prevent further loss of innocent lives.
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About ActionAid
ActionAid is a global federation working with more than 41 million people living in more than 71 of the world’s poorest countries. We want to see a just, fair, and sustainable world, in which everybody enjoys the right to a life of dignity, and freedom from poverty and oppression. We work to achieve social justice and gender equality and to eradicate poverty.