Aljazeera Source Sam Rose, director of planning at the UNRWA, spoke to Al Jazeera about the closure by Israel of Gaza’s border crossings. He said Israel’s push to close the Rafah crossing and the Karem Abu Salem crossing – which Israel calls Kerem Shalom – has had “devastating impacts for the people of Gaza who are already on the verge of famine”. The crossings have been the “lifeblood for the small amounts of goods that have been coming into Gaza since October”. “There’s no ability for desalination plants to operate and provide safe water. There’s no electricity; it cuts off everything,” Rose said. The UN agency, he added, has a host of immediate concerns, in particular, the fuel shortage in the enclave as well as the humanitarian impacts of the Israeli military operation, which appears to have started in eastern Rafah.
