Rafah, Gaza Strip – About 1.5 million Palestinians, most of them displaced, are squeezed into the small city of Rafah within the southern Gaza Strip.
They’ve been expelled from their properties in different elements of Gaza throughout Israel’s assault on the besieged enclave, which has killed greater than 28,000 folks.
Israel had designated Rafah a “protected zone”, however now, it’s threatening a floor invasion, leaving greater than 1,000,000 folks trapped there, terrified, with nowhere else to go.
Rafah is the most recent in a collection of areas that Israel has mentioned could be “protected zones” for civilians to shelter in from what’s now 4 months of assaults, however Israel has attacked one after the opposite, forcing folks out time and again.
There have been worldwide condemnations of Israel’s plan to invade Rafah however Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he’s decided to proceed, claiming that it will “end Hamas”, which is the declared intent behind the assault on Gaza.
Senior Hamas leaders have mentioned that such a transfer on Israel’s half would finish any chance of negotiations between the 2 sides.
In opposition to this backdrop, the worry and panic that has taken maintain of individuals in Rafah continues to construct. Al Jazeera spoke to a number of Palestinians who ended up in Rafah due to the warfare, a few of whom had been displaced many instances over.
‘Nowhere else to go’
Umm al-Abed Fayyad mentioned she and her household have been displaced 4 instances to date.
“We’re in a special space each month. The final place we had been in was Khan Younis, and now we’re in Rafah,” she defined.
When requested how she feels about the opportunity of an Israeli invasion, Umm al-Abed Fayyad mentioned she has “nowhere else to go”.
“The Israelis are all over the place. The place are we going to go?” she requested, noting that individuals throughout them are “hungry and homeless”.
Like others within the space, she says: “Irrespective of how a lot they threaten, we is not going to transfer once more, and God prepared, we will probably be victorious. We’ll persevere and stay affected person.”
Asaad Hassan, one other Palestinian displaced from Gaza Metropolis to Rafah, is unwell. His solely want, he says, is “to return to my residence and for the aggression to cease”.
“We’ve nowhere else to go however to the grave, in the event that they perform their threats to invade Rafah,” Hassan instructed Al Jazeera.
Israel’s warfare on the besieged Gaza Strip started on October 7. That day, the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, which governs Gaza, launched assaults on southern Israel, killing 1,139 folks and taking about 240 again into Gaza.
Israel instantly responded with a bombardment marketing campaign adopted by a land invasion of northern Gaza.
At the very least 28,340 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, the vast majority of them ladies and kids, whereas 67,984 have been wounded previously 4 months.
Nearly all of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been compelled out of their properties, and greater than 60 % of all infrastructure within the strip has been demolished.
‘There will probably be massacres’
Umm Badr Abu Salme mentioned she moved along with her household to Rafah primarily based on orders from the Israeli military that it will be safer.
“We got here to Rafah, and now they’re telling us to go away,” she instructed Al Jazeera. “There will probably be massacres. There isn’t any different place to go. Rafah is our final refuge. This warfare should cease.”
“Anybody who strikes is killed,” Abu Salme mentioned. “We’ve no protected place to go to.”
Mohammed Madi, who’s a medic, has been displaced a number of instances since he was compelled to go away his residence in Gaza Metropolis.
“If the occupation follows by means of with its threats to invade Rafah, it will likely be a catastrophe,” Madi instructed Al Jazeera.
“Nonetheless, I gained’t go away Rafah as a result of the place will we go? The remainder of Gaza is destroyed. I’ll die right here earlier than I go away,” he mentioned.
“We name on the Arab nations … to take a call and finish this genocidal warfare towards Gaza,” Madi mentioned.
On December 29, South Africa filed a case towards Israel on the Worldwide Court docket of Justice, arguing that it’s finishing up genocide towards the Palestinian folks, a time period many have used to explain Israel’s warfare on Gaza.
Journalist Alaa Salameh, a resident of Rafah who has lined the warfare everywhere in the Strip, mentioned he’ll stay to report from the town regardless of the Israeli threats.
“The Israeli military carried out numerous massacres throughout the Gaza Strip. If it invades Rafah, it would do the identical,” Salameh instructed Al Jazeera.
“The occupation doesn’t observe worldwide regulation. In the event that they invade Rafah, there will probably be no protected place,” he continued. “There must be international stress to forestall this potential crime from occurring.”
He famous that Israel has already killed 1000’s of Palestinians in air strikes on Rafah over the previous few months.
Haifaa Mohammad Abdelhamid Saleh was compelled to go away her residence in Gaza Metropolis and got here to Rafah. “We left on October 14. We didn’t wish to go away Gaza Metropolis or our properties, however the Israeli occupation instructed us that we might be protected if we did.”
“We hope they don’t invade Rafah. In the event that they do, there will probably be a humanitarian catastrophe – not simply amongst refugees but in addition for the residents of the town,” Saleh mentioned.
“They burned down all the pieces in Gaza. They wish to take out their revenge on the resistance in Gaza.”
