[News]Al-Mawasi: Palestinians fleeing to ‘humanitarian zone’ find little hope

-HuNTeR- · March 27, 2024

Any greater provision of humanitarian aid in al-Mawasi is relative too. In northern Gaza, 300,000 to 500,000 people are threatened with famine, with those most vulnerable, like Salman, facing desperate choices as they seek to survive. In nearby Rafah, there is more food, though prices are prohibitive for many, and some functioning healthcare.

In al-Mawasi, UN agencies and others are able to get some food assistance to the inhabitants of the huge encampment that has sprung up across the dunes and scrubby plain inland but materials for shelter are in very short supply.

Some areas of al-Mawasi are farmland, and still fenced off, increasing crowding further, while UN agencies and international NGOs are occupying most of the guesthouses by the beach.

“There is no real organised assistance,” said one senior aid official. “Sanitary conditions are appalling. Some community organised waste collection [is in place] but very few toilets – people go in the sand or the sea. Water has to be trucked in, ie few wells nearby and no pipes. Water trucks come once a day in Rafah and streams of kids run after them with jerry cans.”