Statement by CARE’s Gaza Response Director, Francis Hughes on yesterday's attacks in Al-Mawassi, southern Gaza:
"We are horrified by yesterday’s airstrikes targeting Al-Mawassi area in Khan Younis, which have reportedly killed at least 90 and injured about 300 people, including many women and children. The Israeli military has designated the area a “safe zone” where displaced civilians have set up tents and makeshift shelters. However, as humanitarians on the ground in Gaza we know that nowhere is safe in Gaza.
Most of the Gaza Strip has been destroyed by the conflict, with civilians disproportionally bearing the brunt of this conflict. Civilians in Gaza are constantly living under the threat of bombs, disease, starvation and displacement. Since the start of the conflict, pregnant women are now three times more likely to miscarry. And if they carry their baby to full term, they are now three times more likely to die in childbirth.
Al-Mawassi is a 16km strip of coastal land in Khan Younis, hosting an estimated population of around one million displaced civilians, who have been following evacuation orders for the past nine months - a staggering 43 percent of the pre-conflict Gaza population. The conditions in this area are deplorable, meaning that makeshift shelters are built on top of each other and there is nowhere else for them to go. Food, water, sanitation are also impossible to deliver due to the many access constraints imposed on humanitarians in Gaza. Indiscriminate targeting of settlements means more death, destruction and displacement for thousands of people.
We again urge all parties to this conflict to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law, including respecting the principles of humanity, proportionality, distinction, and military necessity at all times. Civilians must be protected and humanitarian workers must be given safe and unhindered access to reach populations in need. An immediate and sustained ceasefire must be agreed."
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