The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned that the situation in Rafah, where Palestinians fleeing Israeli attacks have taken refuge, has reached the “explosion point”.
OCHA spokesman Jens Laerke, at a briefing held in Geneva, answered a question from AA journalists about the statements from Tel Aviv about the possibility of expanding the ongoing attacks on the city of Rafah, and said: “We fear that this will be worse for the people. ”
Stating that past events warrant concern, Laerke said: “We undoubtedly fear for the displaced from Gaza (in Rafah).”
Expressing his deep concern about internally displaced civilians seeking refuge in Rafah in recent days, Laerke said: “Thousands of Palestinians continue to flee to the south, which currently has more than half of its 2.3 million inhabitants. Rafah is desperate and ready to explode, we’re worried about what’s going to happen next. We’re scared.”
During a visit to Israeli troops in the Khan Younis region of the Gaza Strip yesterday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said he would shift his attacks in Khan Younis to the town of Rafah on the Egyptian border.
The city of Rafah, located on the border with Egypt in the southern Gaza Strip, is home to about half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, with thousands of people displaced by Israeli attacks taking refuge in the city.
Israeli forces target the town of Rafah with frequent airstrikes. It is feared that if Israel launches a ground attack on the town of Rafah, civilians will have no shelter in the Gaza Strip, AA writes.
