The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) says in an X post that more families are fleeing Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip after the intensification of Israeli military operations in the city.
This week has seen two mass killings of Palestinians in Rafah at the hands of Israeli forces, in which at least 61 civilians were killed.
“It’s been repeatedly proven that no matter where families shelter, they are not safe”, UNRWA said.
World Central Kitchen stops work in Rafah after Israeli attacks
The World Central Kitchen charity halted its food-distribution operations in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah because of attacks in the area.
“In the face of Israeli operations in Rafah, countless families are being forced to flee once again,” the US-based charity said on X. “Ongoing attacks have forced us to pause work at our main kitchen in Rafah and relocate many of our community kitchens further north.”
The charity recently resumed its work in Gaza after suspending operations in April following the killing of seven of its workers in three air strikes by an Israeli drone. The deaths of an Australian, three Britons, a North American, a Palestinian and a Pole triggered global outrage over Israel’s military operations.
Palestinians face harrowing journeys as they flee Rafah
Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary, reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, says families who have fled Rafah are describing harrowing journeys out of the southern city.
“There is a complete blackout in different areas across Rafah,” Khoudary said. “People were trying to call the ambulances. They were trying to call the civil defence teams to evacuate them to a safe zone, but they could not reach anyone.”
More than 945,000 Palestinians were displaced from Rafah between May 6 and May 26, the United Nations humanitarian office said in its most recent update on Monday.
“There are more people still in Rafah,” Khoudary added, explaining that some cannot afford to leave while others don’t know where they can go to seek shelter.
Palestinians fleeing from the southern Gaza city of Rafah on May 28
‘Rafah is burning’: World Food Programme demands ‘urgent’ ceasefire
The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) has called for an immediate truce in Gaza and warned its ability to help the starving and desperate people there is fading fast.
“People and children displaced in Rafah and across Gaza are beyond exhausted. And our ability to help them is deteriorating with every passing hour, every passing day,” the WFP said.
“We need an urgent ceasefire NOW,” it said in a statement, adding: “Rafah is burning.”
The statement was issued after an Israeli attack on Sunday on a camp for displaced people in Rafah in which at least 45 people were killed, including women and children burned alive in a massive fire.
UN says aid to Gaza has dropped 67 percent since Israel’s Rafah attack began
Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN chief, says the decline has occurred since May 7, citing numbers from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
“This is due to the closure of the Rafah crossing, the inability to safely and consistently pick up commodities that have been dropped off on the Palestinian side of the Kareem Abu Salem [Kerem Shalom] crossing and limited deliveries through other entry points,” he said.
He added that UN humanitarian and social service operations in Rafah are being forced to close “one after the other” due to the expansion of fighting.
Israeli forces ‘directly targeted’ ambulance in Rafah: Palestine Red Crescent
The Palestine Red Crescent Society says the ambulance was targeted in the Tal as-Sultan area of Rafah and “the fate of the crew is still unknown”.
“Coordination is ongoing to reach the targeted area and ascertain the crew’s fate,” it said.
Essay Pro