According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), some one million people have now been forced to flee Rafah in southern Gaza – as Israeli bombardments continue to claim lives.
UNRWA says there is “nowhere safe to go” for the civilian population, that food and water are in short supply, and that “day after day, providing assistance & protection becomes nearly impossible”.
In the past 3 weeks around 1 million people have fled #Rafah
This happened with nowhere safe to go & amidst bombardments, lack of food & water, piles of waste & unsuitable living conditions
Day after day, providing assistance & protection becomes nearly impossible#CeasefireNow pic.twitter.com/CyVE0angws
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) May 28, 2024
At the outset of the Israeli invasion, Palestinian civilians were encouraged to move to “safe zones” – including Rafah and southern Gaza, where some one million Palestinians also moved to the border town.
Soon, however, bombings began in Rafah as well, justifying the attacks by claiming that Hamas militants were hiding among the civilian population and firing at Israeli targets from the town. Despite international protests, a military “offensive” against the town has been underway for more than two weeks, with the stated aim of wiping out Hamas cells.
Recently, at least 45 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a camp outside Rafah – an incident that Benjamin Netanyahu described as a “tragic mistake”.
Israel commits a massacre in #Rafah this evening, dropping several 2,000 pound bombs on civilian tents and #UN compounds, murdering dozens of civilians seeking shelter. This was Israel’s response to the @CIJ_ICJ ruling Friday that it must halt its offensive on Rafah. pic.twitter.com/vS1ouUU8Oj
— Husam Zomlot (@hzomlot) May 26, 2024
So far, nearly 36,000 Palestinians are reported to have been killed since the Hamas attacks of October 7 – most of them women and children. Hundreds of journalists, aid workers and UNRWA staff have also been killed. Meanwhile, nearly 1,500 Israelis have been killed in the same period.
