Gaza: Almost 450,000 people left the city of Rafah in Gaza in the space of one week as hordes of displaced people try to escape from heavy fighting in the south of the coastal strip, the UN said on Tuesday.
“Empty streets in Rafah as families continue to flee in search of safety,” the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) wrote on X.“People face constant exhaustion, hunger and fear. Nowhere is safe. An immediate ceasefire is the only hope.” The Israeli army advanced on Gaza’s southernmost city from the east just over a week ago and has since also taken control of the Palestinian part of the Rafah border crossing to Egypt.
Israel is exerting military pressure on the Palestinian organization Hamas to secure the release of hostages taken at the start of the Gaza war last October. It also wants to dismantle any remaining Hamas battalions in Gaza.
Israeli attacks and fighting in the Gaza Strip continued on Tuesday, with Palestinian eyewitnesses reporting continuous shelling in the north, south and centre of the coastal strip. (DPA)
