Over 100,000 Gazans have fled Rafah as Israel escalates its attacks on the southern city. Deadly aerial attacks on Rafah have targeted residential and public buildings in the tightly packed area. The Israeli army’s closure of Rafah’s border is preventing food and medical supplies from entering Gaza. Community kitchens in Rafah say they do not know how much longer they can keep running.

Azza Nana: “Approximately 80% of people rely on food from charity kitchens, as they are unable to provide their own meals and drinks. Their entire dependency lies on these charity kitchens. If these kitchens were to close, they would have no means to provide food and drinks. Many individuals have approached us with similar concerns, urging us to attempt to reopen kitchens in their displacement location. We, too, seek shelter and support.”

The blockade is being felt throughout Gaza. This is a Jordanian doctor, Ali Abu Khurma, who has been working at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza.

Dr. Ali Abu Khurma: “There used to be medical aid coming in, and now there’s no medical aid. Now we have operations, but we don’t have gauze to use. There’s nothing to use. We have a simple operation, an urgent one which is not related to the war, which is appendicitis. We do not have anything to wear. The gown that we wear, we don’t have it. … We have become part of the people of Gaza. What happens to them happens to us. We will continue. The same way they are being resilient, we will, too.”