GAZA — Tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees crammed into the Rafah area on the border of Gaza with Egypt to avoid Israeli bombing. The UN humanitarian office said refugees in Rafah could not sleep comfortably due to the lack of refugee tents.
Civilian residents have arrived at the Rafah border following an Israeli military evacuation order that includes areas inside and around the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have fled from northern Gaza to the south in a war that has been going on for almost two months. This recent exodus has further pushed many Palestinian refugees closer to the Egyptian border.
“Israel is lying. There is no safe place in Gaza and tomorrow they will chase us in Rafah,” said Samir Abu Ali, a 45-year-old father of five.
“They want Nakba again but I won’t leave. Rafah is my ‘final’ destination,” Abu Ali said.
Nakba, or catastrophe, is an event of the forced expulsion of Palestinian residents during the 1948 war that accompanied the establishment of the state of Israel. Other Gaza residents expressed concerns about Israel’s relentless bombing.
“Israel is now pushing us toward Rafah and then they will invade there,” said another refugee named Zinaib via phone from Khan Younis.
The Israeli military is determined to destroy Hamas, after the Palestinian fighter group carried out a surprise infiltration into southern Israel on October 7. The Israeli military has distributed leaflets ordering Gaza civilians to move south toward the Rafah border.
The UN said about 80 percent of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million had left their homes during the war. Many of them have moved repeatedly and have been hit by air strikes.
Rafah is located about 13 km (8 miles) from Khan Younis. Rafah is located on the border with Egypt, and is the only intersection between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.
A UN report on Wednesday (6/12/2023) said that aid had entered Gaza from Egypt through Rafah. However, its distribution was hindered by a shortage of trucks, and UN staff could not report to Rafah due to increased hostilities since the ceasefire ended last week.
Israel now controls the volume and nature of aid entering Gaza. UNRWA officials said that little aid had entered Gaza through the Rafah border with Egypt. The aid can only meet a small portion of the total needs of Gaza residents.
King Abdullah II told Christodoulides that there would be dangerous consequences of any attempt to forcibly expel Palestinian residents en masse from their land while maintaining security control.
Israel began bombing Gaza in retaliation for Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023. Israeli bombing has caused nearly 16,000 Palestinian deaths and forced 80% of the population to leave their homes.
source: Republika, Reuters
