Gunfire damages tents at Rafah displacement site as UN aid teams brace for winter storms
Gunfire damaged several tents at a Rafah displacement camp in northern Gaza, injuring people and prompting a humanitarian partner to withdraw, while UN officials called for protection of civilians and aid workers.
Gunfire struck a displacement site in northern Rafah, Gaza, on Tuesday, damaging multiple tents and causing injuries, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The incident forced a humanitarian partner to leave the area. OCHA also reported small-arms fire near a UN-contracted facility in Deir al-Balah and close to a UN-organized convoy in Rafah on the same day, though no UN staff were injured and no damage to UN assets was recorded.
The attacks occurred amid ongoing strikes that have hit populated areas across the Gaza Strip, resulting in civilian casualties. > "Civilians, including humanitarian workers, must always be protected, and civilian objects, including humanitarian facilities and vehicles, must always be spared," spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told journalists.
Despite the security challenges, relief operations continue. In the last week of October, the UN and partners assisted more than 70 households that lost shelters and belongings due to airstrikes or fires. Child-protection teams reached nearly 4,500 children and over 2,000 caregivers with mental-health and psychosocial support, identified about 200 children needing individualized aid, and provided vouchers for autumn clothing to over 1,000 children without parental care.
In the West Bank, OCHA noted that the olive harvest remains affected by violence and access restrictions. Food-security partners have supplied harvesting tools to roughly 80 % of identified hotspots, while protection partners have supported volunteer harvesting efforts and provided a protective presence for farmers.