Gaza live: Biden moves ahead with military aid for Israel as it launches ground assaults on Rafah

Oxfam has issued a stark warning about the deteriorating situation in Gaza, as critical water and sanitation infrastructure continues to be destroyed by Israeli forces. 

Alongside overcrowding, malnutrition, and soaring temperatures, these conditions are pushing Gaza towards a potentially deadly epidemic outbreak, the aid agency cautioned. 

More than 350,000 people have been displaced by the recent Israeli invasion of Rafah, exacerbating already dire living conditions in overcrowded shelters and camps, with diminishing food and fuel supplies due to closed border crossings.

UNICEF's analysis indicates that 87 percent of critical water and sanitation facilities in Gaza have been destroyed or severely damaged, further exacerbating the crisis.

Oxfam’s Middle East Director, Sally Abi Khalil, said: “The situation is desperate, with so many people in Gaza living in fear and being forced to endure inhumane and unsanitary conditions caused by sustained Israeli bombardment. One colleague told me there was so much human waste in the streets, it literally smelt like disease.

An image shared by the Quds News Network claims to show bags of flour destined for Gaza tipped off an aid truck and on to the floor at what appears to be Kerem Shalom (Karem Abu Salem) crossing with the besieged territory.

For months now, Israelis had been camped at the crossing, trying to prevent the entry of aid into Gaza.

On several occasions, they have attacked trucks carrying food, resulting in spoilage.

BREAKING: Rampaging Israeli settlers attack trucks carrying desperately needed humanitarian aid on the way to the besieged Gaza Strip, unloading and destroying bags of wheat flour. pic.twitter.com/79BwSq5QWU

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) May 13, 2024

The lack of food entering the Gaza Strip following the closure of the Rafah crossing, along with the increased amount of people heading to southern and central areas bring fear of a new famine hitting civilians, Middle East Eye's correspondent in Deir al-Balah says.

Deir al-Balah is relatively small compared to other cities in Gaza, with vast agricultural lands. The city, still dealing with regular Israeli strikes, is unprepared for the influx of displaced people fleeing Israel's attacks on Rafah.

"The presence of thousands of displaced people all of a sudden created a state of chaos in the markets of Deir al-Balah," Mohammed al-Hajjar, MEE's correspondent, said.

"For starters, the Rafah and Karem Abu Salem crossings are closed for the sixth day. No items have entered the south [of Gaza]. Additionally, the items currently present are not sufficient for the high number of people which recently came to the city. The stores are almost out of food supplies"

Al-Hajjar says there is "a heavy lack" of food supplies, with most of it consisting of aid brought from people in Rafah, who are selling it in able to afford other essentials.

"Today, you see very few canned foods and cheeses," he said. "Flour bags are not present in adundance in Deir al-Balah. There are not many bakeries here, maybe two or three bakeries, with two distribution points. An insane amount of people stand in line to buy a single bag of bread."

Al-Hajjar said the price of bread tripled in two days, and that the price of other items such as vegetables is also increasing.

"People do not have money after seven months of war," he added. "There is a big liquidity and cash crisis in several areas of Gaza that has been ongoing over the past few months. People cannot buy things at such high costs. Those who still have some money try to buy the essentials and food supplies for very high prices.

"Thousands of people are in the market just to ask about the prices without buying anything, because they cannot afford it in this situation. People are trying to spare expenses as much as possible by using the supplies they have from the aid distributions in Rafah, from the boxed they used to get from relief and aid agencies there."

Those who have been depending on daily supplies to be able to eat or drink may find it difficult to cope with the scarcity of resources, he says.

"Those who eat and drink by the day will not be able to get [what they need to survive]. We could be seeing a new famine in the displacement areas. Displaced people are very worried about the lack of supplies. A major crisis too is related to the lack of water fit for drinking."

Displaced people from Rafah to other areas in southern and central Gaza worry the closure of the Rafah crossing and the lack of aid coming through the Karem Abu Salem crossing may bring them to a new heatlh crisis.

"Some other items such as potatoes and other vegetables are now completely unavailable, and have been for over a week," Ahmed Abu Aziz in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, told Middle East Eye. "We are also talking about essential foodstuffs and aid that used to enter the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing or even the Karem Abu Salem crossing. These foodstuffs have not entered [again] until now."

Abu Aziz says the bigger crisis may hit people in a week or so, as the aid brought in by people who escaped Rafah would have been depleted.

"In general, there is now a lack of foodstuffs in the markets," he added. "We are talking about the areas  al-Tayara, al-Alam, al-Awda and al-Attar, in which foodstuffs have become very few and rare with very high prices.

"One kilogram of sugar that used to cost 12-13 ($3.2-3.5) shekels now costs 95 shekels ($25.5)."

Abu Aziz adds that aid trucks have been unable to reach Rafah or Khan Younis since the beginning of Israel's offensive on eastern Rafah last week.

"There is [also] a lack of fresh water," he says. "The al-Yassin water station, which was present in al-Sultan in the west of Rafah city, used to distribute water to hundreds of thousands of people for free. Now, it is in one of the targeted areas which are being evacuated by citizens heading to Khan Younis and Dear al-Balah."

Abu Aziz says the areas civilians are fleeing towards do not have fresh water access, and only have salted water which has not been properly filtered out. 

"This could lead to a health crisis that ravages infects the citizens in Khan Younis and the central areas."

Israel’s occupation of Palestine and subjugation of the Palestinian people have long been described as colonial. From the theft of land and natural resources to nationalism and capitalism, Israel has aligned itself with colonial tactics and rhetoric. 

But how does the state of Israel, which is waging a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, continue to garner international support from people who seemingly have nothing to gain from the Israeli occupation? 

It’s important to recognise that colonialism doesn’t just impact the immediate region geographically. Modern colonialism permeates society virtually, and consequently affects communities internationally. 

Israel’s colonial tactics have involved broadcasting war crimes and obscenities online. Much of this is the result of Israeli soldiers’ social media activities. 

Israeli soldiers have been seen rejoicing in the destruction of Palestinian homes, abusing Palestinians, mocking assassinated aid workers, and even posing with Palestinian women’s undergarments.

READ MORE: How TikTok and Instagram help to spread Israeli colonialism, opinion by Samar El Masri

The Israeli army said that four soldiers were wounded by an anti-tank guided missile attack from Hezbollah near Kibbutz Yiftah, northern Israel on Monday.

Three of the soldiers are lightly hurt while the fourth one is in moderate condition, according to the army and the Ziv hospital in Safed, which is treating the soldiers.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack, while another drone launched from Lebanon targeted an area near Zar'it, with no reported injuries.

Fighting erupted at a Memorial Day ceremony in Israel after a person heckled far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

Fighting continued outside the cemetery in Ashdod, where the ceremony was held, as people entered heated arguments over Israel's anti-government protests.

"Look what has happened to us," one man told an anti-government protesters, after telling him he should pray for Israel. "Why disturb us? Fuck off. Look what you’ve come to".

Police separated the opposing parties.

Students from the University of Leicester in central England have set up a Gaza solidarity encampment on their campus, joining a global movement demanding educational institutions cut their ties with Israel.

Amongst the demands issued by students in Leicester is that their university distances itself from barrister Malcolm Shaw, professor emeritus at the university's law school and representative of Israel at the International Court of Justice where it is accused of committing genocide.

Israel has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza since it began its bombardment of the besieged territory in October.

The death toll includes Wiesam Essa, a former University of Manchester researcher, who was set to be an incoming University of Leicester scholar.

An Israeli bombing killed Essa in Gaza in early January.

The photos below were taken by University of Leicester student Hannah Houghton on 11 May.

They show members of the local community marching on the campus to express solidarity with the students involved in the sit-in.
 

Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar said that the Israeli security service will learn from its failures that led to the Hamas-led 7 October attack.

"We all feel the loss, the feeling that we could have prevented it, and as the head of the agency and responsible for the agency’s activities, I feel it perhaps more than anyone," he said, speaking at a Memorial Day ceremony for killed members of the Shin Bet.

Ten members and veterans of the agency have been killed since last year's Memorial Day.

Bar added that a "painful and significant investigation" will take place to find the role the Shin Bet played in the 7 October failures.

"We will learn from this and correct what is required. This is our duty to the people of Israel and this is our duty to the fallen. Without the public’s trust in the state institutions and us, we have no right to exist."

Almost 360,000 people have fled Rafah since Israel issued its evacuation orders on 6 May and launched wider operations in the area, the UN's Palestinian refugee agency said on Monday.

"There’s nowhere to go. There’s no safety without a ceasefire," the agency said on X.

Gaza's heath ministry said that they are "a few hours away" from the collapse of the health system in the enclave due to the lack of fuel needed to "operate power generators in hospitals, ambulances, and transport employees".

Aid and fuel distributions to Gaza were halted after the Israeli army took over the Rafah crossing last week.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said that the war in Gaza will continue "until all hostages are freed, we dismantle Hamas’s rule and its military capabilities, and we bring back prosperity and creativity to the State of Israel and a smile to the faces of its citizens."

Speaking at an Israeli Memorial Day event, Gallant said that this war "will shape our lives for decades to come".

An Israeli strike on Rafah's Brazil neighbourhood killed four people, including a young girl, according to the Wafa news agency. 

The Palestinian Civil Defence had said earlier that Israeli forces fired at rescue workers trying to reach a building in the Brazil neighbourhood after it was bombed.

The Israeli army said that two rockets were launched at southern Israel from the Gaza Strip today.

The rockets were fired at the kibbutzim of Mefalsim and Netiv Ha’asara, where they hit open areas according to the Israeli military.

Palestinian journalists in northern Gaza report that Israeli forces are striking shelters hosting displaced people in Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza, forcing hundreds of Palestinians to flee.

Israeli tanks are attempting to enter the centre of Jabalia amidst heavy clashes with armed Palestinian factions.

Ambulances have reportedly been targeted by the Israeli army.