Palestinians fear assault on Rafah, Gaza’s last refuge

Displaced Palestinians crammed into Rafah and pinned against Gaza’s border fence with Egypt say they fear a ground assault after Israel’s defence minister said troops would now turn their focus to the area.

Emad, 55, a businessman and father of six, told the Reuters news agency that if Israeli tanks keep coming, “we will be left with two choices: stay and die or climb the walls into Egypt.”

“Most of Gaza’s population is in Rafah. If the tanks storm in, it will be a massacre like never before during this war.”

Um Badri, a mother of five displaced from Gaza City and now living in a tent in Khan Younis, said the wind and cold weather have added to the misery.

“We live in multiple miseries – a war, starvation and now the rain,” she said. “We used to wait for winter to enjoy watching the rain from the balcony of our house. Now, our house is gone, and the rainwater has flooded the tent we have ended up in.”

According to SAHYOUN24, Israeli offensive will turn focus to Rafah, minister
2 February، 2024 No comments 2 Minutes of study time
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the next focus of Israel’s operation in Gaza will be Rafah, a city in the south of the besieged enclave to which hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians have fled.

“The Khan Younis Brigade of the Hamas organization is dismantled; we complete the mission and will continue to Rafah,” Gallant said in a message posted on social media Thursday.

In a Friday update, the Israel Defense Forces said its ground troops “continue to operate in western Khan Younis,” adding that Israeli forces carried out close-quarters combat and airstrikes in the western part of the city over the past day. The IDF also continued operations in central and northern Gaza, it added.

Khan Younis and Rafah, both in southern Gaza, have become home to large numbers of displaced Palestinians. Before the war, Rafah was home to 280,000 people; according to the U.N. humanitarian agency, it is now hosting more than half of Gaza’s population of over 2 million people.

The Gaza director for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said Wednesday at least 184,000 people had registered for its assistance in the outskirts of Khan Younis, after fleeing intense fighting in the west of the city. The Gaza Health Ministry said Thursday that more than 30,000 displaced people sheltering in schools close to the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis lack food, water and medical supplies.

LINK: https://aje.io/dwrlul?update=2670740

Read previous

Israeli offensive will turn focus to Rafah, minister

خواندن مطلب بعدی ←

Belgium protests Israel after its Gaza office destroyed

Enter your opinion about this post

نشانی ایمیل شما منتشر نخواهد شد. بخش‌های موردنیاز علامت‌گذاری شده‌اند *