Kazem Abu Khalaf, spokesperson for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), has disclosed the continuous displacement of tens of thousands of Palestinians to the Rafah area on the Gaza Strip’s border with Egypt, driven by fears of ongoing Israeli bombardment in the southern region of the Strip.
In recent days, as the conflict between the Israeli military and Hamas has intensified, Israeli authorities issued an evacuation map advising Palestinians to move southward and leave areas of military operations for their safety.
In a special interview with Sky News Arabia, Abu Khalaf stated, “The number of displaced individuals is continuously increasing, which correlates with Israeli military actions and field data.” He confirmed that more than 400,000 Palestinians have sought refuge in the Rafah area, which typically houses 280,000 residents, in search of elusive safety since the war’s onset.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that most displaced individuals in Rafah are sleeping in the open due to a shortage of tents, despite the UN’s efforts to distribute several hundred of them.
Civilians are reaching the area following evacuation orders issued by the Israeli military, including regions inside and around Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.
The Worsening Situation
The UNRWA spokesperson outlined several key points about the current situation amidst the significant displacement in Gaza:
The situation in the Gaza Strip is deteriorating, especially with the significant increase in the number of displaced people moving southward, particularly to the Palestinian Rafah area.
Initially, displacement was towards southern areas, but following ground incursions and continuous bombardments in southern locations like Deir al-Balah and Khan Yunis, additional numbers have been displaced, potentially reaching nearly a million in Rafah.
Rafah is ill-equipped to handle this large influx, both in terms of infrastructure and relief services, whether provided by UNRWA or other relief organizations.
The conditions in the shelters are “extremely poor”, with over 1.2 million individuals residing in 154 facilities managed by the agency, and responding to the needs of the people has become a significant challenge for humanitarian institutions.
The entire Gaza region has suffered extensive destruction, significantly affecting service provision to displaced persons. The entry of 100 trucks daily is far from sufficient, especially amidst widespread destruction, where previously 500 trucks entered daily before the war. Fuel has become as crucial as medicine and water; for instance, UNRWA alone requires a minimum of 160,000 liters of fuel daily for its operations.
Therefore, the urgent need is for a genuine and serious ceasefire, or at least a humanitarian truce and safe passages to facilitate the continuous and substantial entry of aid without obstacles.