1/19/2025–|Last updated: 1/19/202512:58 AM (Mecca time)
The mayor of Rafah, Ahmed Al-Sufi, declared the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip a disaster area, 470 days after the war of extermination that it was subjected to by the Israeli aggression.
Al-Sufi explained – during a press conference in Rafah – that Rafah was turned into rubble and rubble as a result of the brutal, systematic aggression, as its people were forcibly displaced, their homes were destroyed, and no stone or human being was spared.
He added that what Rafah witnessed is not just a military operation, but rather an episode of genocide and ethnic cleansing that aims to erase all signs of life, as entire neighborhoods were wiped out, infrastructure was destroyed, streets were swept away, and the city became unfit for life.
He explained that the initial estimates of the disaster ruling can be summarized as follows:
- 30 of Rafah’s municipal headquarters out of 36 were completely destroyed, including the main municipal building
- 60% of the city’s homes were razed to the ground, which is equivalent to 16,000 buildings containing 35,000 housing units that were destroyed.
- 15 water wells out of 24 were destroyed
- 70% of the sewage networks were vandalized, turning the city into an environment infested with diseases and epidemics
- 291 linear meters of streets and roads were completely destroyed and swept away
- 4 schools were completely destroyed, in addition to severe damage to the rest of the educational institutions
- 9 medical centers were out of service as a result of the destruction, including 4 hospitals (Abu Youssef Al-Najjar Main Hospital, the Maternity Hospital, the Indonesian Hospital, and the Kuwaiti Hospital)
- 81 mosques were completely destroyed, and 47 other mosques were severely damaged
- Thousands of agricultural acres were swept away, and trees and fireplaces were completely destroyed
- A part of the city along the border with Egypt, 9,000 meters long and 500 to 900 meters wide, was destroyed, wiping out 90% of the residential communities in the Al-Salam and Brazil neighborhoods and the Rafah camp.
Al-Sufi concluded his speech by appealing to the Arab and Islamic nations and the free people of the world to extend a helping hand to Gaza to provide relief and rebuild their city. He considered this announcement to be a cry to the free world and all international institutions to help Rafah and the rest of the Strip to lift it from the state of devastation and devastation left by the Israeli aggression.
