360,000 flee Rafah due to Israel strikes: UNRWA

The number of Palestinians who were forced to leave Rafah due to attacks by Israeli forces rose to 360,000, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said today.

“Nearly 360,000 people have fled #Rafah since the first evacuation order a week ago,” UNRWA stated on X.

“Meanwhile, in north #Gaza bombardments & other evacuation orders have created more displacement & fear for thousands of families,” it added.

Nearly 360,000 people have fled #Rafah since the first evacuation order a week ago.

Meanwhile, in north #Gaza bombardments & other evacuation orders have created more displacement & fear for thousands of families.

There’s nowhere to go. There’s NO safety without a #ceasefire pic.twitter.com/BEgP97DVNi

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) May 13, 2024

The agency further underlined: “There’s nowhere to go. There’s NO safety without a #ceasefire.”

Israel has waged an unrelenting offensive on the Gaza Strip since 7 October. More than 35,000 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, mostly women and children, and 78,400 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Over seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, forcibly displacing 85 per cent of the enclave’s population amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is “plausible” that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

However since then Israel has taken over the Rafah Crossing, through which almost all humanitarian aid was entering Gaza. No aid has been allowed into the Strip since Israel raised its flag over the crossing.

Read: Israel lacks ‘credible plan’ to safeguard Rafah civilians, says Blinken