- People in Gaza have ‘very genuine fears’ that they will be displaced permanently or even ‘expelled out into Egypt,’ says Medical Aid for Palestinians official
- ‘We’re very worried about the potential for millions of people to be permanently displaced from their homes,’ Rohan Talbot tells Anadolu
- ‘This can’t go on forever. It needs to end as soon as possible,’ says Talbot
LONDON
The UK-based Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) has joined the chorus of calls for more sustained humanitarian assistance for people in the Gaza Strip, while also warning of the potential catastrophic effects of the forced transfer of millions of people.
Many international organizations have pointed out that the amount of aid crossing into Gaza from the Rafah crossing with Egypt does not meet the needs of the 2.3 million Palestinians living in Gaza, who are facing dire circumstances because of relentless Israeli attacks that have claimed thousands of lives and displaced millions.
“Right now, of course, we’re waiting to see what’s going to happen with Rafah crossing. Some aid started to get in but it’s a tiny amount, nothing near as close to what’s needed for the 2 million people in Gaza who are suffering right now,” Rohan Talbot, MAP’s director of advocacy and campaigns, told Anadolu.
He said Gazans are already facing disastrous conditions and now there is growing fear that they will be forcibly and permanently moved from their homes.
“There have been rumors and very genuine fears from people inside Gaza that they would be displaced from the north to the south permanently and Gaza shrinks in size, or even they might be expelled out into Egypt,” he said, pointing out that the majority of people in Gaza are already refugees who were displaced in 1948.
Palestinians refer to that as the Nakba, or “catastrophe” in Arabic, which saw mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians.
“A second Nakba can’t be allowed to happen,” Talbot stressed.
Making sure there is no forcible displacement in Gaza is just as important as ensuring cease-fire and access to required aid, he said.
“We’re very worried about the potential for millions of people to be permanently displaced from their homes, Palestinian people, including our colleagues,” he added.
Each day we think the situation can’t get any worse
More than 9,200 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli assaults on the besieged Gaza Strip in less than a month, including close to 6,000 women and children, according to Health Ministry figures.
Politicians need to see that children are being killed at a rate that is “quite terrifying to see,” said Talbot.
“There is intensive bombardment across all areas, not just in the north but including in the southern areas where people have been told to evacuate to,” he said.
“This can’t go on forever. It needs to end as soon as possible and politicians should be listening to people raising their voices for a cease-fire.”
About the blackout of communications and internet in Gaza, Talbot said the MAP also lost complete contact with its team of around 20 people on the ground.
He said 16 members of the MAP team have also been displaced due to the Israeli bombardment.
“We didn’t know whether they were okay, whether they were alive, or what they were experiencing at that point,” he said.
Any aid delivery was also impossible because of the blackout.
“That all had to shut down,” he said.
When Israel started the bombardment, MAP released all its stocks from warehouses, including emergency medical supplies, and delivered it directly to hospitals in Gaza, he said.
Currently, MAP teams are still continuing to identify whatever is available on the local market, procuring that and delivering it to hospitals and the shelters accommodating more than 1.4 million displaced Palestinians, he added.
Talbot said MAP teams are setting up operations inside Egypt with the hope of procuring the required medical and other supplies, and will deliver them to Gaza at “the earliest opportunity.”
On the incursions of Israeli tanks into Gaza, he said: “Each day we think surely the situation can't get any worse. We’re calling for an immediate cease-fire why because this can’t go on for forever, people need aid, people need support on the ground and the killing needs to stop.”
