Hundreds of Palestinians are fleeing Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, after Israeli forces attacked the area where at least 1.4 million internally displaced people are sheltering.
Palestinian health authorities said at least 67 people were killed in overnight attacks on Monday after Israeli strikes hit 14 homes and three mosques.
Despite calls to refrain, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken of mounting a ground attack on Rafah. Facing the looming threat of further attacks, many Palestinians, who initially fled south toward the city for safety, are now fleeing to the central region.
Rafah, in Gaza, spanning about 64 square kilometers (25 square miles), has been massively overcrowded since hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians fled there after the Israeli military designated it as a so-called ” security zone” in its ongoing war.
More than half of Gaza’s population has now gathered in this small area to escape Israeli bombing, which has razed much of the rest of the enclave.
With the influx of desperate people and the lack of clean water, food, medicine and other basic necessities, diseases are also increasing.
Rawaa Abu Dayya, who has been displaced with her family seven times since the Israeli war began on October 7, is among those who recently fled Rafah.
“We were living in incredible fear,” she told Tel Aviv Tribune. The family is from Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza and is currently setting up a tent in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.
“There is no safe place. But at least we feel like there is relative safety in Deir el-Balah at the moment,” she said.
“My biggest fear is losing a family member, someone I love and care deeply about.”
