The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) announced - today, Tuesday - that about 450,000 people were forcibly displaced from Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, while the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that the Israeli military operation forced hundreds of thousands to take refuge in unsafe areas.

Another 100,000 people have fled their homes amid renewed fighting in northern Gaza, the United Nations said, meaning that about a quarter of the Strip's population of about 2.4 million people have been displaced again in just over a week.

UNRWA stated that "the streets are empty in Rafah as families continue to flee in search of safety," in addition to that people "face constant exhaustion, hunger and fear. There is no safe place," stressing that an immediate ceasefire "is the only hope."

The agency added in another post, “Families continue to flee wherever they can, including to the rubble in search of safety.

UNRWA pointed to the absence of water, electricity and sanitation, stressing that displaced people fleeing Rafah are returning to destroyed areas that are “not fit for living in any way.”

Deepening the suffering

For its part, UNICEF said that the escalation of hostilities in Rafah and the Gaza Strip has deepened the suffering of hundreds of thousands of children, noting that the military operation in Rafah has so far caused the displacement of more than 448,000 people to unsafe areas.

The organization explained that humanitarian operations, which represent the only lifeline for all residents throughout the Strip, are threatened, pointing out that it faces increasing challenges in transporting any aid to the Gaza Strip while fuel shortages remain a critical problem.

The United Nations - in addition to several international warnings - called for avoiding a “major catastrophe” as a result of the Israeli invasion of this city, which represents the last refuge for about 1.4 million people, the majority of whom are displaced, who fled due to the occupation’s fire and raids on various areas of the Gaza Strip as part of its ongoing war that left dozens behind. Thousands of martyrs and wounded amid a humanitarian situation described as catastrophic and a worsening famine.

Source: Al Jazeera + French