Rafah: The Realities on the Ground

The killing of seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) staff on April 1 brought significant attention to the extreme insecurity Palestinian and international aid workers and civilians alike have faced in Gaza since October 7. The WCK attack showed: no one is safe in Gaza.

On April 6, following the outcry of Member States, the Government of Israel made seven commitments in a reported effort to increase humanitarian access into Gaza.

In this detailed paper describing the challenges for humanitarian access in Gaza, NGOs highlight that the current situation is only expected to deteriorate even further with the Israeli military invasion of Rafah, voicing concerns towards the potential closure of the Rafah crossing and the evacuation of aid actors from the governorate.

Third States must urgently put Israel’s Rafah military operation on top of their political agenda  and allocate substantial efforts to  create monumental diplomatic pressure to deter  the Government of Israel from moving forward with its plan immediately. States must also use all bilateral tools at their disposal to directly pressure parties to the conflict into a sustained unconditional ceasefire.

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