The Zionist occupation has turned the Rafah governorate, located at the southernmost point of the Gaza Strip, which had been the last refuge for Gaza’s displaced population over the course of 15 months of the total destruction war on the strip, into a ghost town and a closed military zone.
The occupation seeks to isolate and separate it from the rest of the Gaza Strip, after committing horrific massacres that left hundreds of martyrs and wounded, along with widespread destruction that affected all aspects of life.
The Government Media Office: “Rafah…The City Erased from the Map by the ‘Israeli’ Occupation and Transformed into a Full-Fledged Humanitarian Catastrophe.”
In a new statement, the Government Media Office highlighted that Rafah is languishing under the weight of a comprehensive catastrophe and intense destruction due to the Zionist genocide. The IOF has turned Rafah into a “closed military zone,” and it is completely isolated from the rest of the Gaza Strip.
The Office noted that the IOF is committing horrific massacres in Rafah and caused systematic damage.
Despite the ceasefire, the killing machine of the IOF has not stopped. According to the Office, dozens of martyrs in recent days were civilians who tried to return to inspect the ruins of their homes.
Rafah is 60 square kilometers with 300,000 people. The Mayor of Rafah, Dr. Ahmed Al-Sufi, stated that public squares were “completely annihilated,” calling it a disaster area.
The occupation has completely destroyed more than 90% of the homes in Rafah Governorate, which amounts to over 20,000 buildings containing more than 50,000 housing units, in addition to the destruction of 22 water wells out of 24. Over 85% of the sewage networks have been destroyed, which turns the city into a disease-ridden environment prone to the spread of diseases. 320 kilometers of roads were also destroyed.
In Rafah, 12 medical centers have completely gone out of service, most notably the Martyr Abu Yousef Al-Najjar Hospital, which the occupation blew up using an explosive robot, as well as the destruction of the Maternity Hospital and the Indonesian Hospital. 8 schools and educational institutions were completely destroyed. The occupation forces also destroyed over 100 mosques in Rafah alone. Agriculture took a large hit, as the occupation forces, bulldozed tens of thousands of dunams of agricultural land, completely eradicated trees and agricultural greenhouses. 30 out of 36 headquarters in the governorate were destroyed, including the main headquarters of the Rafah Municipality. On the border with Egypt, the IOF destroyed an area 12,000 x 500 – 900 meters, erasing 90% of residential neighborhoods, especially in the Al-Salam, Al-Brazil, Al-Jeneina, and Rafah camp neighborhoods. Meanwhile, the “Kerem Shalom” crossing has been closed for a month, and no fuel has entered.
The Government Media Office called on the international community to bear their responsibilities. They called for action to pressure the IOF to withdraw from Rafah, provide safe passage for relief, investigate war crimes, and immediately begin reconstruction efforts.
“The completely isolated Rafah Governorate was not only bombed, but it was systematically destroyed and erased, in a scene that reflects the occupation’s premeditated intention to empty the land of its people and change its geographical and demographic features… The steadfastness of the people of Rafah Governorate and the rest of our people will remain a living testament that the will to life is stronger than the machine of death.”
