Thousands of Palestinians fled after Israel seized Rafa as part of a new “safe zone”
Hundreds of thousands of fleeing Canadians sought shelter in one of the largest large-scale displacements in Thursday’s war as Israeli forces were promoted to the ruins of the city of Rafa, part of the newly announced “safety zone” they intend to capture.
The day after announcing the intention to capture a large swath of crowded enclaves, Israeli forces advanced the city on the southern edge of Gaza, the last refuge for people in other parts of the war during much of the war.
Gaza’s Ministry of Health reported that at least 97 people died in Israel’s strikes in the past 24 hours, including at least 20 in an air strike near dawn in the suburb of Shuja’iyya, Gaza.
Local health authorities said an Israeli air strike killed at least 20 Palestinians, including women and children, in a school building that serves as a shelter for displaced families in Gaza City.
Medical personnel said three missiles hit the Dar al-Arqam school building in the Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza, which the Israeli military said hit a command center that militants used to plan and carry out attacks on Israeli civilians and the Army. It provides no evidence.
Rafah “left, being eliminated,” the father of seven fled from Rafa to neighboring Khan Younis, who told Reuters via a chat app.
“They are demolishing the remaining status of the house and property,” the man said.
After the strike killed several Khan Younis’s men, Adel Abu Fakher checked the losses of his tent.
He said: “What are we left? We have nothing. We were killed while we were asleep.”
The capture of Rafah attack was a major escalation in the war, which restarted Israel last month after effectively abandoning a ceasefire since January.
Gaza people fear permanent displacement
Israel has not yet articulated its long-term objectives for the security zones now occupied by the troops. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the troops were adopting an area he called the “Morag Axis” which was a reference to an abandoned former Israeli settlement that once stood between Rafa and Khan Younis.
Now, Gaza people who returned to the houses in the ruins during the ceasefire are now ordered to escape communities on the northern and southern edges of the strip.
They fear that Israel’s intention is to reduce these areas indefinitely, with thousands of people permanently homeless in one of the poorest and most crowded territories on the planet. The safe zone includes the last agricultural land in Gaza and critical water infrastructure.
There has been no consensus since the first phase of the ceasefire expired in early March, so that Israel imposed a lockdown on all goods that reached Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, recreating what international organizations call humanitarian disaster after weeks of relative calm.
Since the war began, Israel stated its goal was to undermine the Hamas militant group, which lasted for nearly two decades.
But Hamas-led police returned to the streets during the ceasefire due to no effort to establish an alternative government. Fighters still hold 59 deaths, and Israel said it must be handed over to extend the truce. Hamas said they can only be released under the agreement to end the war.
According to the Israeli Soles, the war began with an attack on the Israeli community led by Hamas on October 7, 2023, with gunmen killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages. Gaza health authorities say Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians so far.
Israeli leaders said they were inspired by signs of protests against Hamas in Gaza, with hundreds of people in northern Gaza opposing the war on Wednesday and demanding Hamas withdraw from power. Hamas called the protesters collaborators and said Israel was behind them.
Most of Rafah residents were evacuated
Rafa residents say that when Israel strikes, most of the local population follows Israeli orders. However, strikes on the main road between Khan Yunis and Rafa prevented most of the movement between the two cities.
Residents say people and traffic movements on western coastal roads near Morag were also restricted by bombing.
“Others are because they don’t know where to go, or have been displaced several times. We are worried that they may be killed or detained,” Basem said.
Palestinian health authorities say Israeli air strikes in Gaza damaged Nasser Hospital and killed at least 65 people within 24 hours. The ongoing attacks have caused some aid agencies to reduce the area’s footprint.
Prices of basic necessities soared under Israel’s total lockdown on food, medicine and fuel.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health, located in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has nominal power over the hospitals in Gaza, said Gaza’s entire health care system is at risk of collapse.
