1 million people forced to flee Rafah and live in “indescribable” conditions, says UN

Dubai:

Forced displacement has displaced more than a million people from the Gaza city of Rafah, the United Nations Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA) said on Monday.

The small city at the southern tip of the Gaza Strip was home to about 1 million Palestinians who fled Israeli attacks elsewhere in the enclave, aid groups said.

Since early May, Israel’s military has carried out what it says is a limited operation in Rafah to root out Hamas fighters and dismantle infrastructure used by the Palestinian Islamic militant group that rules Gaza.

The Israeli military told civilians to go to an “extended humanitarian zone” about 20 km (12 miles) away.

Many Palestinians have complained that they are vulnerable to Israeli attacks wherever they go, and have been moving up and down the Gaza Strip in recent months.

UNRWA said thousands of families are now sheltering in damaged and destroyed facilities in the town of Khan Younis, where the agency provides essential services despite “increasing challenges”.

“The conditions are indescribable,” the agency added.

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