Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected international pressure to hold off an attack on Rafah.
The UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) said on Saturday that around 150,000 Palestinians have left Rafah, the southern Gaza city where an Israeli invasion is underway despite international outcry.
“Everywhere you look now in west Rafah this morning, families are packing up. Streets are significantly emptier,” Louise Wateridge, a UNRWA spokeswoman, said on X.
“UNRWA estimates 150,000 people have now fled Rafah,” she added.
“New areas have been issued evacuation orders towards central Rafah in south Gaza and Jabaliya in North Gaza,” Wateridge said, referring to the orders by the Israeli military Saturday morning.
Rafah is currently home to some 1.4 million displaced Palestinians.
Everywhere you look now in west #Rafah this morning, families are packing up. Streets are significantly emptier; @unrwa estimates 150,000 people have now fled Rafah.
New areas have been issued evacuation orders towards central #Rafah in south #Gaza AND #Jabalia in North #Gaza pic.twitter.com/bolQsVQSJL
— Louise Wateridge (@UNWateridge) May 11, 2024
The new instructions to Palestinians, via leaflets and messages on social media, suggest a coming offensive by the Israeli army in the center of Rafah.
On Saturday morning, Israeli tanks were reportedly positioned on Salahaddin Road, which divides central Rafah from the already evacuated eastern neighborhoods, according to eyewitnesses.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected international pressure to hold off an attack on Rafah.
Gaza Genocide
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 34,971 Palestinians have been killed, and 78,641 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
"Netanyahu is not willing to reach a ceasefire. But we stick to our commitment to this proposal. We are not ready to receive any other proposal. We hope the international community will be able to pressure Israel to agree on a permanent ceasefire.
Top Hamas official, Dr. Basem… pic.twitter.com/SVt5PtqkgT
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 11, 2024
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
(PC, Anadolu)
