Nearly 800,000 Palestinians have been displaced from Rafah since Israel launched its offensive on the southern Gaza city last week, said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA).
Lazzarini denounced the repeated displacements of Palestinians in a statement released on Saturday.
“Since the start of the war in Gaza, Palestinians have been forced to flee repeatedly in search of safety they never found, including in UNRWA shelters,” Lazzarini said.
“When people move, they are exposed, without safe passage or protection. Each time, they are forced to leave behind the few possessions they have: mattresses, tents, kitchen utensils and basic supplies that they cannot transport or pay for transport.
“Every time, they have to start from scratch. »
On Saturday, intense fighting took place in Gaza – and not just in Rafah – with Israeli attacks killing dozens of Palestinians.
Gaza’s health ministry said early in the day that 83 Palestinians had been killed in the previous 24 hours.
Later Saturday, Tel Aviv Tribune’s Arabic correspondent Ismail Alghoul reported that 40 bodies had reached Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza after Israel bombed the Jabalia refugee camp. At least 15 people were killed in a single attack.
Once again, almost half of Rafah’s population, 800,000 people, are on the road, having been forced to flee since the start of the military operation in the area by Israeli forces on May 6.
In response to evacuation orders requiring people to flee to so-called safety zones,…– Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) May 18, 2024
The Wafa news agency also reported that four Palestinians were killed in the Israeli bombardment of Khan Younis, north of Rafah, and three others were killed in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
The violence across the territory underscores warnings from humanitarian advocates that there is no safe place for Rafah residents to flee.
Israel has faced international warnings, including from its main ally, the United States, against the Rafah invasion. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government appears to be ignoring these calls and continuing the assault.
Last week, Israeli forces took control of the Rafah crossing which connects Gaza to Egypt. The gate, which served as a major artery for life-saving aid and an entry and exit point for aid workers, has been closed since May 7.
The closure of the Rafah crossing stranded thousands of sick and injured Palestinians who might have had the chance to leave Gaza for treatment abroad.
Before the assault began, Rafah was home to 1.5 million people, most of whom had been displaced from other areas of Gaza.
Throughout the war, Israel ordered Palestinian civilians in Gaza to move south as it invaded the territory from the north.
Many residents were first moved to the central part of the enclave and then to the southern town of Khan Younis. They were eventually forced to flee again to Rafah. Today, Rafah residents are fleeing north.
Netanyahu presented Rafah as the last Hamas stronghold in the territory. But as the Israeli army invades the city, fighting rages in Jabalia and in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, to the north of the enclave.
Israel said in January that it had dismantled Hamas’s “military cadre” in the north.
On Saturday, the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, claimed responsibility for several attacks against Israeli forces, including targeting military vehicles with rocket-propelled grenades in Rafah and Jabalia. The group also said it killed 20 Israeli soldiers in two separate operations in Rafah.
For its part, the Israeli army announced that it had recovered the remains of Israeli captive Ron Binyamin, who it said was killed during the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7.
Israel had declared the day before that it had found the bodies of three other captives based on new information.
But Hamas appeared to downplay the significance of the Israeli announcement.
“The enemy’s leaders are pushing their soldiers into the Gaza alley to return in coffins, so they can search for the remains of some captives they (Israel) targeted and killed earlier,” he said. declared Abou Obaida, spokesperson for the Qassam Brigades, in a press release. .