5/28/2024–|Last updated: 5/28/202411:28 AM (Mecca time)
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said on Tuesday that about one million people have fled Rafah during the past three weeks.
UNRWA said in a post on the “X” platform on Tuesday, “This happened with no safe place to go amid the bombing, food and water shortages, piles of waste, and unsuitable living conditions.”
“Day after day, providing assistance and protection becomes almost impossible,” she added.
Several countries expressed fears of any Israeli ground military operation in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, and warned of the humanitarian repercussions it would have.
The Israeli occupation forces committed a massacre in a camp for displaced people in Rafah, which led to the death of at least 45 people, most of them women and children, and the injury of dozens of others, amid strong Arab and international condemnations.
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
The White House called on Israel to take all possible precautions to protect Palestinian civilians, a day after the massacre that targeted displaced people in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip and sparked widespread international condemnation.
In a statement issued early Tuesday, the White House described the image that followed the Israeli raid on a camp for displaced people in Rafah as horrific.
The statement spoke of communication with the Israeli army and what it described as partners on the ground to assess what happened.
The UN Security Council is expected to hold an emergency meeting today, Tuesday, to discuss the situation in Rafah, as diplomatic sources told Tel Aviv Tribune that Algeria called for a closed and emergency consultation session.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the Israeli strike on the city of Rafah, and said yesterday, Monday, that the attack “killed dozens of innocent civilians who were just looking for shelter to protect them from this deadly conflict.”