Two days ago, the city of Rafah, in the far south of the Gaza Strip, witnessed a reverse displacement movement towards the center of the Strip, after a series of intense Israeli raids targeted the city, and a continuing threat from Tel Aviv to carry out a massive ground invasion there.

Thousands of residents of the Central Governorate began to return to their homes, fearing an imminent military operation in Rafah, according to what the Anatolia News Agency reported.

They had previously been displaced to Rafah, after being displaced from their residential areas, which were targeted by the Israeli army at the time.

During the past two days, other numbers of displaced people from the northern regions of the Gaza Strip began heading to the Central Governorate, which includes the city of Deir al-Balah and the Bureij, al-Maghazi, and al-Nuseirat camps.

According to eyewitnesses, all of these displaced people leave Rafah in vehicles and carts pulled by animals, heading to the new shelter only via the coastal “Al-Rashid” Street, which connects the sector from north to south.

Omar Zain al-Din (33 years old), a displaced person from Gaza City, says that he decided to go with his family members to Deir al-Balah for fear of the escalation of the situation in Rafah and the transfer of the ground military operation there.

Zain al-Din was living in a tent near the Egyptian border with the Gaza Strip. Before leaving for Deir al-Balah with his wife and five children, he dismantled his tent and gathered all the clothes and firewood he could carry on a horse-drawn cart to take him to the new place of displacement.

He added: "This is the fifth displacement trip since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip. At first we left Gaza City to the Al-Zawaida area, then we headed to Deir Al-Balah and from there to the city of Khan Yunis, before moving to the border with Egypt in Rafah, and now we will return to Deir Al-Balah," according to him خب what was reported by “Anatolia”.

Naeem Al-Safadi also decided to leave Rafah, but will return to his home in the Nuseirat camp, from which he was displaced about a month ago to the border city of Rafah.

Al-Safadi says: “My house in Nuseirat is destroyed. I will return there and pitch my tent on its rubble. The Israeli forces will soon arrive in Rafah, and I fear that a massacre will occur here.”

Al-Safadi was lucky on his return trip to Nuseirat. He found a small truck whose owner managed to operate it using cooking oil instead of the diesel lost in the markets. This will make the trip quick but expensive.

The displaced Palestinian says: “I will pay Abu Mazen (the owner of the truck) 1,500 shekels (about 450 dollars) to transport me with my family and my luggage to Nuseirat. This amount is equivalent to 25 times the original price before the war, but there is nothing I can do. My wife is sick and I cannot transport her on a horse-drawn cart.” ".

On board that truck, Al-Safadi carried his dismantled tent, his family’s clothes, bedding, blankets, and modest kitchen utensils that barely met part of their needs.

Al-Safadi expresses his fears about the lack of food and goods in the Nuseirat camp and the rest of the central areas of the Gaza Strip. The aid entering the Gaza Strip is very limited, and only small amounts reach the central region due to the large population concentration in Rafah.

If all the displaced people in Rafah decide to head to the central regions, its small area will not be enough to accommodate these large numbers, especially since most of its area is narrow refugee camps, in addition to the fact that Deir al-Balah, the only city in it, is crowded with displaced people and its residents who were unable to leave it during the last period.

Thus, the reverse displacement movement will impose great pressure on the central region, as it will not be able to provide any services to the huge numbers of displaced people, in addition to its narrow area.

Last Monday, the city of Rafah witnessed a bloody night that resulted in the death and injury of hundreds, most of them women and children, in a series of violent raids launched by the Israeli army on different areas of the city.

The International Committee of the Red Cross warned on Wednesday that "the imminent Israeli military attack on the city of Rafah may have a serious impact," calling for respect for "the basic principle of humanity."

The committee said in a statement, “Israel, as the occupying power, bears the responsibility under international law to ensure that the basic needs of the civilian population are met.”

The organization stressed that "forced displacement" is expressly prohibited under international humanitarian law, as are the use of human shields and indiscriminate attacks that cause the death and injury of disproportionate numbers of civilians.

It pointed out that "evacuations must ensure the safe arrival of civilians, must provide satisfactory conditions in terms of hygiene, health, safety and nutrition, and not separate family members," noting that "they must also be able to return to their homes when hostilities stop." .

It stressed that those responsible for evacuations must "take into account the large numbers of people moving along roads damaged by bombs, through the rubble of destroyed buildings, and through areas contaminated with unexploded weapons."

Rafah turned into a huge camp for displaced people, and it is the only large city in the Strip that the occupation army has not yet invaded by land.

On Sunday, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Authority (“Kan 11”) reported that the Israeli army had approved an operational plan to launch a ground operation in Rafah, which is the last refuge for the displaced in the stricken sector.

The Israeli announcement was met with international warnings and calls not to undertake the operation, as it would have “catastrophic” consequences for about 1,400,000 Palestinians, most of whom were displaced from other areas in the Gaza Strip, for whom Rafah represented their last refuge.