Palestinians Say Food Supplies Not Meeting IDPs’ Needs During Ramadan
(Arab World Press) - Palestinians in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, said the severe shortage of food aid resulting from the ongoing Israeli war for the sixth month has worsened conditions for hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in sheltering centers since the beginning of Ramadan.
Mohamed Hassan Abu Sharkh, the director of al-Quds sheltering center in the city of Rafah, said the goods available at the center consist mostly of canned foods that do not meet the basic needs of an ordinary person.
He explained, “There are no fresh vegetables, fruits, meat or fish. All we have is canned food provided by organizations supporting the center. Most of it does not fulfill the needs of an average person.”
Abu Sharkh pointed out that the quantity of aid does not meet even half of what the displaced people need and that the number of aid trucks arriving at the shelter centers is inadequate.
The sheltering center chief also highlighted that the hygiene facilities available fall short of what is required for the number of people.
He said, “We have over 2,700 people in this center, yet bathrooms and sanitary facilities number no more than 20, which is a very low ration for this many IDPs.”
International organizations said that the vast majority of inhabitants of the embattled enclave, estimated at 2.3 million Palestinians, live as displaced people amid harsh conditions since the outbreak of the Israeli war on Gaza on October 7.