The Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) confirmed on Saturday that 800,000 people have been “forced to flee” from Rafah in the far south of the Gaza Strip since the start of Israeli military operations in the city this month.
Philippe Lazzarini said on the
Lazzarini confirmed that people are fleeing to areas that lack water supply and sanitation.
The Commissioner-General of UNRWA added that the coastal town of Al-Mawasi, which has an area of 14 square kilometers, as well as the city of Deir Al-Balah in the center of the Strip, are “crowded” with displaced people.
Israel says that the ground attack on Rafah is decisive against the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), considering the city to be the movement’s last stronghold.
Violent clashes and bombings rocked the city of Rafah yesterday, Saturday, and an Agence France-Presse correspondent said that air strikes and artillery shells targeted the eastern parts of the city at a time when warplanes were flying overhead.
Palestinian sources in Rafah said that Israeli forces are operating in the city’s Al-Salam and El-Geneina neighborhoods and on the Philadelphia Road along the Egyptian border.
A security source said, “The forces are advancing and retreating in these areas.”
Relief organizations confirm that the Israeli incursion into Rafah, which began despite widespread international opposition and while mediators hoped to achieve a breakthrough in the stalled truce talks, has exacerbated the severe humanitarian crisis.
Also in the north, the occupation army issued a new evacuation order yesterday evening, Saturday, for neighborhoods in northern Gaza, saying that they had witnessed rockets being fired at Israel.
The army said in the evacuation order, “To those in the neighborhoods of Al-Karama, Mashrou’ Amer, Al-Atatreh and Al-Sultan… you must evacuate immediately to shelters in the west of Gaza City.”
The United Nations and non-governmental organizations regularly warn of the risk of famine in the Gaza Strip, where about 2.2 million people live, 70% of whom have been displaced since the start of the war on October 7, 2023.
