'Catastrophe on catastrophe': British doctor tells ITV News of desperation in Rafah
The following report by ITV News Correspondent Chloe Keedy contains distressing images
Words by ITV News Producer Roohi Hasan
Aid agencies are warning that Gaza cannot cope with the number of refugees Israel has ordered to flee from the southern city of Rafah.
Israel has been increasing military activity in Rafah recently, despite US threats that it could withhold shipments of weapons.
The UN says that more than 350,000 people have fled the city over the last week, as the situation there becomes increasingly desperate.
That means only around a quarter of Rafah’s population have managed to escape in the last seven days since the ground offensive began.
'People in absolute desperation now are taking food from the few convoys getting through'
NGO Medical Aid for Palestinians reported on Monday that hospitals in Gaza are reporting they will only function for a matter of hours due to fuel shortages after the Israeli military closed the Rafah crossing.
Very little aid has entered Rafah over the last week as a result of Israel's actions. The European Hospital has already run out of fuel and can no longer keep the lights on.
Dr James Smith, an emergency doctor in Rafah, has told ITV News about the critical shortage of fuel and described the situation around him as the worst he has seen in his lifetime.
He said: "The situation here in Rafah is catastrophic, almost beyond comprehension. When people say all eyes on Rafah, what they mean is don't turn away.
"This is catastrophe on catastrophe on catastrophe, I've never seen or heard anything like it in my entire life," he added.
Smith said some people are fleeing back to the southern city of Khan Younis where "people are pitching up their tents amidst the rubble of destroyed homes, destroyed schools and destroyed mosques."
"Some organisations are doing water trucking but otherwise, there are no basic services to sustain human life anywhere there," he said.
"At present, there are efforts to reopen Nasser Hospital and efforts to reopen Al Amal Hospital, but the functionality of both of those facilities is far, far below that, which is required to provide for the number of people that are now living in and around the area."
As of Monday, the Palestinian death toll in Gaza has soared past 35,000, the Hamas-led Gaza Health Ministry said.
Rafah lies trapped between Egypt to the south, the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Israel to its east and Israeli troops to the north.
Because of its border with Egypt, Rafah is one of two main arteries for the flow of aid into Gaza. The crossing is also the only exit for those able to flee to Egypt.
Since they declared war in response to Hamas' deadly cross border attack on October 7, which killed about 1,200 people, Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu has said its central goal is to destroy its military capabilities.
Israel says Rafah is Hamas' last major stronghold in Gaza.
The international community has urged Israel not to go ahead with a major ground assault.
The UN Secretary-General warned that a full-scale invasion on Rafah by Israel would be "a strategic mistake, a political calamity, and a humanitarian nightmare".
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