On Thursday, hundreds of thousands of Gazans fled to seek shelter in one of largest mass displacements during the war as Israeli forces advanced on the ruins of Rafah. This is part of a “security zone” that Israel has announced it plans to take.
Israeli forces, a day after declaring that they would capture large areas of the crowded enclave in Gaza, pushed their way into the city at the southern end of Gaza, which had been the last refuge of people fleeing from other areas during the war.
Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that at least 97 Palestinians were killed by Israeli airstrikes in the last 24 hours. At least 20 of them died in an attack around dawn on the Shejaia neighborhood in Gaza City.
Rafah is “gone, it’s being wiped out,” said a father who was one of the thousands of people who fled Rafah for Khan Younis.
The man, who refused to be named for fear of repercussions, said: “They are tearing down the houses and properties that remain standing.”
Adel Abu Fakher checked the damage done to his tent after a strike in Khan Younis killed several people.
“Nothing is left for us. We’re being murdered while we sleep,” he said.
Israel’s assault on Rafah marked a significant escalation of the war. It was restarted by Israel last month after it effectively abandoned a ceasefire that had been in place since January.
GAZANS FEAR A PERMANENT DEPOPULATION
Israel hasn’t stated its long-term goals for the security area its troops are currently seizing. Benjamin Netanayahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, said that troops had taken over an area called “Morag Axis”, a reference to a former Israeli settlement located between Rafah at Gaza’s southernmost edge and Khan Younis in the main southern city.
Gazans, who returned to their homes that were in ruins after the ceasefire have been ordered to leave the communities at the northern and southeastern edges of the Strip.
Israel is feared to be planning to permanently depopulate these areas, making hundreds of thousands homeless in one the most impoverished and crowded regions on Earth. Gaza’s water infrastructure and some of its last agricultural land are included in the security zone.
Israel has blocked all goods from reaching Gaza’s residents since the ceasefire phase expired at the beginning of March. There was no agreement on extending it. International organizations have described this as a humanitarian disaster after weeks of relative peace.
Israel has stated its goal from the beginning of the war to destroy the Hamas militants who ruled Gaza for almost two decades and were responsible for the October 2023 attack on Israeli towns that sparked the war.
Hamas’s police, however, returned to the streets despite no attempt to create an alternative administration. Israel demands that the 59 hostages, both dead and alive, be released to prolong the ceasefire. Hamas insists it will only release them if a peace deal is reached.
Israeli leaders have said they are encouraged by the signs of protest against Hamas in Gaza. On Wednesday, hundreds of people demonstrated in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza to oppose the war and demand that Hamas leave power. Hamas says that Israel is supporting the protesters and calls them collaborators.
According to Israeli statistics, the war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched an attack against Israeli communities. Gunmen killed 1,200 people in this attack and took more than 250 hostages. Gaza’s health authorities claim that Israel’s campaign to date has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians.
Residents of Rafah said that most locals had left after Israeli strikes destroyed buildings. A strike on the main road linking Khan Younis to Rafah halted most traffic between the two towns.
Residents reported that the bombardment also restricted traffic and people’s movement along the western coast road near Morag.
“Others stayed, either because they didn’t know what to do or were tired of being relocated so many times. We are afraid that they will be killed, or at the very least detained,” said Basem, a Rafah resident who refused to provide his identity.
Under Israel’s total food, medicine, and fuel blockade, the markets have been emptied, and the prices of necessities are soaring.
Gaza’s healthcare system is at risk, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The ministry, which has its headquarters in Israel-occupied West Bank but only nominal authority in Gaza, warned that Gaza’s health care system could collapse.