Israeli forces have launched new air and artillery strikes in southern Gaza, forcing Palestinians to flee overcrowded Rafah ahead of a feared ground invasion that world leaders have condemned.
The U.N. humanitarian agency OCHA said Thursday that people already displaced several times in the four-month conflict were heading to Deir el-Bala and the Nuseyrat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
Rafah has been designated a “safe zone” and was the last refuge for Palestinians who were forced to flee Israeli attacks by land, air, and sea in the rest of the enclave. An estimated 1.4 million Palestinians had some form of security in tents or makeshift shelters.
UN aid chief Martin Griffiths has warned that Palestinians in Rafah could be forced into Egypt if Israel launches a planned military operation against the border city.
“Military operations may take place in Rafah; [border] Mr Griffiths told diplomats at the United Nations in Geneva on Thursday that with crossings closed and possible water leaks…a kind of Egyptian nightmare…we have before us.
He said the idea that Gazans could be evacuated to safety was an “illusion”.
“We all have to hope that friends of Israel and people who care about Israel's security will give them good advice at this time,” Griffiths added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday reiterated his goal to eliminate Hamas by all means, including a military operation in Rafah.
“We intend to fight until complete victory and this includes strong action in Rafah after allowing civilians to leave the combat zone.”
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Mirjana Sporjalić said that without a clear evacuation plan that includes the sick and elderly, suffering will reach new levels.
“If the operation against Rafah intensifies as announced, the suffering on both sides and the carnage we have seen since October 7 will reach unimaginable depths,” Sporjaric said. .
Israeli forces are also engaged in military operations in central and northern Gaza, so any large-scale movement further north would be risky.
On Thursday, Israeli forces attacked Nasser Hospital, the main medical facility in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza.
The military described the attack as “precise and limited,” adding that it was based on “credible intelligence” that Hamas fighters were hiding inside the compound and holding captives. A Hamas spokesperson denied the allegations as “lies”.
After telling residents to evacuate, the military entered the compound and was met with heavy tank and machine gun fire.
Reporting from Rafah, Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud earlier said Israeli forces “bulldozed” the hospital's southern fence on Thursday and moved into the main building, rounding up “doctors and nurses inside.” Ta.
“Israeli forces are obstructing the treatment of many wounded people. People are currently being attacked inside Nasser Hospital,” he said.
Israel announced Wednesday that it had opened a safe passage for displaced people to leave the hospital, but allowed doctors and patients to remain.
Medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said people ordered to flee Israel were given the option of staying and “becoming potential targets” or leaving “into an apocalyptic landscape” of bombing. He said he was faced with possible choices.
Mohammad El-Masry, a professor at Doha Graduate University, told Al Jazeera that Israel's siege of the hospital and plans to advance into Rafah are all part of “the same story” and that Israel is “trying to make the lives of Palestinians uninhabitable. ” he said. ”.
The Gaza Health Ministry says at least 28,663 people have been killed and at least 68,395 injured in Israeli attacks since the start of the war. In the past 24 hours, 87 Palestinians were killed and 104 injured.
