Israel continues to threaten military action in the city, which is home to hundreds of thousands of people. A breakthrough elsewhere could perhaps avert the offensive.
Ahmed Masud no longer knows where to flee. The young man says he is currently camping with relatives in a large tent in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip. The 28-year-old actually comes from the city of Gaza, which is in the north of the contested region. From there he fled the fighting between the Israeli army and Hamas to the south of the coastal strip. According to Masud, if Israel makes good on its announcement and begins a large-scale offensive in Rafah, there will no longer be a safe place for him and his relatives. “We can barely cope with the difficult conditions under which we currently live,” the Palestinian told the German Press Agency.
Israel considers military action in the city near the border with Egypt to be unavoidable. The country wants to destroy the remaining Hamas battalions there and thereby ensure that the terrorist organization does not regain strength after the end of the war. According to Israeli media, the operation could last around six weeks. Israel also suspects that Rafah is home to the hostages still in the Gaza Strip that terrorists from Hamas and other extremist organizations kidnapped from Israel on October 7th in their brutal major attack that left more than 1,200 dead.
The fear of losing other family members
The military operation is expected to begin with an evacuation of the civilian population lasting several weeks. Israel reportedly wants to move people to tent camps, such as the Al-Mawasi camp on the Mediterranean. However, there are doubts that there is enough space there.
International organizations are reportedly currently setting up tent camps for the displaced. The center of the Gaza Strip is already overcrowded, reports 28-year-old Masud. He and his family are therefore staying in Rafah for the time being. However, in view of the Israeli air strikes on the city, which are already occurring sporadically there, they lived in constant fear. The Palestinian criticizes the fact that there is no proper plan for evacuating people from the city. In the event of an offensive in Rafah, many people are most afraid of losing other family members, people on site tell dpa.
According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, more than 34,450 people have died since the war began. More than 77,500 people were injured. The authority does not distinguish between civilians and armed people. Your information cannot be independently verified.
Tens of thousands have already left Rafah
The Palestinian Mohammed al-Abadla has decided to leave Rafah in the coming days because of the Israeli army’s planned military operation. The 48-year-old told dpa that he wanted to return to his destroyed house in Chan Junis and pitch his tent there. “I can’t take the risk and stay in Rafah and expose my children to danger,” says the father of seven. “We are just civilians who have nothing to do with the war, but we are constantly fleeing from place to place to avoid death.”
According to his own statements, Al-Abadla visited Khan Juni a few days ago to check on his house after the Israeli army withdrew. After the fighting in the city, only ruins of his former home remain. Israel’s army withdrew from Khan Yunis, the largest city in the south of the Gaza Strip, around three weeks ago. Since then, 150,000 to 200,000 Palestinian civilians have left Rafah and gone to Khan Yunis, the Jerusalem Post reported.
UN: Deployment will further worsen humanitarian catastrophe
Israel’s allies have been warning for months against a major operation in Rafah because hundreds of thousands of Palestinian internally displaced people are crowding there. At times, around 1.5 million of the more than 2.2 million residents of the entire Gaza Strip were staying in Rafah. According to aid organizations, more than a million had sought refuge in the city in the south of the coastal region in the wake of the Gaza war.
In order to limit the number of civilian casualties, Israel reportedly wants to carry out the ground offensive gradually. According to information from the Wall Street Journal, the military plans to evacuate the affected parts of the city before each attack before moving on to new areas. Meanwhile, the UN fears that a major military operation will further worsen the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip.
Report: Hamas is said to have supplied fighters with weapons
The Israeli army has now completed its preparations for the ground offensive and is now waiting for the green light from the war cabinet. Israel’s government is initially using the announcement of the operation as a means of exerting pressure in the indirect negotiations that have started again with Hamas about the release of further hostages and a ceasefire in the Gaza war. “Either an agreement in the near future or Rafah,” the Times of Israel quoted a senior Israeli official as saying. Israel will not allow Hamas to delay a hostage deal to prevent the planned military offensive. Israeli media also quoted army officials as saying the offensive could be stopped midway or canceled entirely if a hostage deal was reached.
According to information from the Wall Street Journal, Hamas has prepared its fighters in Rafah for the Israeli operation and provided them with provisions and weapons. Accordingly, the number of guards for the hostages was also increased. It is currently unclear whether the Islamist organization will agree to a deal with Israel.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
