This Sunday night Israel launched a series of attacks against the city of Rafah, killing dozens of people.
Around 1.5 million Palestinians are believed to be taking refuge in that city, having been displaced by Israel’s combat operations in the rest of the Gaza Strip.
Most of those 1.5 million people live in small tents and suffer due to shortages of food, water and medical supplies.
Rafah is located in the southern part of Gaza and about 30 kilometers southwest of Gaza City.
There is the only crossing point between Gaza and Egypt.
The city is also widely regarded as the last remaining shelter for Gazans fleeing Israeli military operations.
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry reported Monday morning that since Israel began its offensive on October 7 28,340 Palestinians have died and almost 68,000 have been injured in the Gaza Strip.
According to authorities, Sunday’s attacks killed 164 people and wounded 200; it was not clear how many died in the overnight attack on Rafah.
During the operation, two Israeli hostages were rescued from the second floor of a building.
“A massacre”
Residents of Rafah told the BBC that helicopters and ships participated in the offensive, in addition to the air attack in the north and center of the city.
The Palestinian National Authority (PNA), which governs the West Bank, denounced that Israel is committing “a massacre” in that city.
“Where to?”
Many in the city have expressed to the BBC the terror they feel at the prospect of an Israeli ground operation there.
“The most common question on people’s minds is: Where can we go?”Dr. Ahmed Abuidaid told the BBC, adding that the desperation is even greater because Rafah was considered the only safe part left in the Gaza Strip.
Rafah is the largest urban center on the border with Egypt.
Just four months ago the town had an estimated population of 280,000 inhabitantsbut with the massive arrival of refugees it has increased almost fivefold, according to the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA, for its acronym in English).
The international community warned Israel not to carry out this offensive.
The United States indicated that an invasion of Rafah would be a “disaster,” while the European Union and the UN expressed concern.
The chancellor of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, assured this Monday that Israel should “stop and think seriously” about any ground offensive in Rafah and the impact on the 1.5 million people sheltered there.
“They have nowhere to go,” he said at a news conference. “They can’t go south, to Egypt. “They cannot go north and return to their homes because many have been destroyed.”
“We are very concerned about the situation and we want Israel to stop and think seriously before taking any further measures“he added.
Humanitarian groups have said it is not possible to evacuate all the people who have found refuge in that city.
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