More than 810,000 people evacuate Rafah amid the Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza
Rafah is the southern city of Gaza where more than 810,000 Palestinians have escaped from the United Nations protection as Israel’s planes and tanks extensively raid the besieged enclave on Sunday. This considerable shift occurs due to the removal of Operation in Rafah of Israel on the 6th of May, which has increased the humanitarian problems in the area.
Philippe Lazzarini, the chief of the UNRWA, stated that, currently, Palestinians are fleeing the conflict zones to areas that do not have proper access to safe water or adequate sanitation facilities. One of the few remaining shelters in this area is the Rafah refugee camps, and many refugees there are now fleeing the war again.
It is untrue that people in Gaza have used any option of moving to the ‘safe’ or ‘humanitarian’ zones. Every time, it directs its missile to the civilian side and poses severe threats to human lives. There is no Gaza-free zone. No place is safe. No one is safe, Lazzarini posted on x fame.
The attacks now on Rafah have further worsened the humanitarian crisis just as it had cut off lifeline supplies to the Palestinians in Gaza through the Rafah and Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossings. UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths also stated that the situation is likely to move to an “apocalyptic” catastrophe if no aid is delivered to Gaza.
After midnight on Saturday, the Israeli military decided to order the evacuations of certain areas in northern Gaza, saying that they had been experiencing rocket fire from Palestinian fighters. Fighting resurfaced across the north and central Gaza Strip on 25 June, nearly two weeks after the army said it was commencing a “limited” operation in the Rafah region. A series of attacks in Jabalia, Deir al-Balah, and Khan Younis targeted Israeli airstrikes.
That night, Israeli forces crossed the alleys of the Jabalia refugee camp in the north of Gaza they claimed they cleared. At least 31 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on the blockaded Gaza Strip Wednesday evening as the bombardment continued for a sixth consecutive day, a Palestinian official told Al Jazeera. Moreover, two Palestinian civilians were killed and injured by a shell fired by the Israelis at Khan Younis, according to military sources.
In other attacks, Israeli forces shelled al-Awda Hospital in Jabalia at Khan Younis. According to the rescue teams, during the renewed violation of the Israeli army on the Jabalia refugee camp, over 300 houses have been destroyed. It is reported today that the Gaza Civil Emergency Service has retrieved the bodies of 150 Palestinians who died at the hands of the army in recent days. Hundreds of corpses and injured people are still waiting to be extracted from the debris under the control and constant bombing that prevents rescuers.
Currently, Gaza is one of the most dangerous places to live in; it has been under attack for nearly 50 years, which led to the loss of more than 35,000 people, most of them women and children. At the same time, 79,476 people were wounded. The Palestinian Civil Defence estimates that 10,000 Palestinians are still trapped under the debris of completed buildings.
Several thousands of lives have been lost, and the crisis has claimed almost 800,000 Palestinians, while large areas of Gaza have been completely demolished. Uninterrupted bombing, the restriction of humanitarian aid and ongoing military actions have worsened the situation, as many of the people live without necessities and in danger. The people of this world still demand that the madness and bloodshed must end and that the aid required for the people in this part of the world to survive this genocide must be let in.
