The Israeli army announces its withdrawal from the refugee camp. The UN estimates that around 900,000 people have fled Rafah since the start of Israel’s military operation in the city.
Mountains of rubble, in which some people try to salvage items that can still be used… This is what Palestinians returning to the Jabaliya refugee camp, the largest in the Gaza Strip, find. It was home to 100,000 residents before Israel’s military operation.
After three weeks of operations, the Israeli army announced that it had evacuated the scene and recovered the bodies of seven Israelis.
According to Hamas, more than 50 Palestinians have been killed and 350 injured in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours.
The delivery of humanitarian aid complicated
The distribution of humanitarian aid is still chaotic, in particular because of the breakdown of the floating bridge installed by the United States off the coast of Gaza, now out of service due to rough seas.
According to Washington, the use of the pier to deliver humanitarian aid could resume in the middle of next week.
“This is not a major military operation”
For its part, the White House minimizes the operation underway in Rafah: it is not the major offensive announced by Israel, believes the administration of President Joe Biden.
“We have been clear about what this is not: a major military operation. I’m not going to classify it in one category or another. This is obviously a very dynamic and fluid situation” commented State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel.
900,000 Palestinians fled Rafah
Civilians and families continue to flee Rafah, with no place to be safe. According to the United Nations, 900,000 Palestinians have fled Rafah since the Israeli ground operation began in early May.
Israel, for its part, claims that it allowed the killing of 300 Hamas fighters.
