Around 300,000 Palestinians fled the city of Rafah, located in the south of the Gaza Strip, after the start of the ground invasion by the Israeli Army in the last week, reported the UN this Sunday, 12.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East (UNRWA) criticized in a note published on the social network X “the forced and inhumane displacement of Palestinians”.
“There is no safe place to go”, the institution repeated three times on that social network, to highlight the absence of a safe area in the Gaza Strip, under Israeli fire since October 7th.
UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini also questioned the military attacks and the exodus of the civilian population.
“The Israeli authorities continue to issue forced displacement orders (…) which is forcing people in Rafah to flee anywhere and everywhere”, he lamented.
He recalled that since the start of the war, most people living in Gaza have been forced to move several times due to attacks.
They desperately sought safety that they never found, some had no other choice than to stay in bombed shelters, he stressed.
The claim of “safe zones” is false and misleading, there is no safe place in Gaza, he said.
Louise Wateridge, UNRWA spokeswoman in Gaza, also condemned the forced displacement of the population.
“Just a few days ago, this entire area west of Rafah was full of makeshift shelters side by side, but this morning you can see the sand, as, one by one, families pack their bags, leaving their things next to them. of the road and they flee”, wrote the official, who is in the city, in Janaina, Khirbat Al-Adas and blocks 6 to 9, 17, 25 to 27 and 31.
The official also confirmed the expulsion of Palestinians from large areas of the northern Jabalia refugee camp, where between 100,000 and 150,000 citizens are sheltered.
In recent days, tension has risen around Rafah, a city with more than a million inhabitants.
On Monday, Israeli troops already occupied the border crossing with the same name, which for the last seven months represented the only entry point into Gaza for food, medicine and fuel.
The army then cut the city in two as part of its offensive against Hamas, amid harsh international criticism over fears of a large-scale massacre among the civilian population.
Source: https://www.ocafezinho.com/2024/05/14/centenas-de-milhares-fogem-de-rafah-em-meio-a-invasao-israelense-diz-onu/
