30,000 Gazans leave the city of Rafah every day – DW – 05/10/2024.

More than 30,000 people leave the city of Rafah “every day”, the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) for Gaza estimated on Friday (October 5, 2024). And among the roughly 110,000 Gazans who have already fled, according to OCHA, there are people who are on their fifth or sixth trip since October 7, the date of the Hamas terror attack against Israel.

“Tanks, artillery and the sounds of shelling are incessant. People are afraid and want to look for a safe place.the displaced person told AFP.

Nearly one and a half million Palestinians fleeing fighting in the northern Gaza Strip have taken refuge in the town of Rafah, in the south of the enclave, near the border with Egypt.

Sanctuary for Hamas

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to launch a major offensive to root out Hamas in Rafah. The Israeli leader believes that the last battalions of the terrorist movement are grouped there.

However, according to the UN, the Israeli military launched a limited ground operation in Rafah, closing the crossing between Rafah and Egypt, one of the main entry points for humanitarian aid. An Israeli attack would lead to a colossal humanitarian disaster, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned on Friday during a visit to Nairobi, Kenya.

He warned of the danger of famine, while the World Food Program said that from tomorrow, Saturday, there will be a food shortage in the south of the enclave if no more aid is sent.

Failed negotiations

Moreover, a truce in the fighting does not appear to be in sight, at least in the near future. On Thursday (09/05/2024), no truce agreement was reached between the terrorist movement and the Jewish state in Cairo, Egypt.

Following this setback, Cairo asked Hamas and Israel to show “flexibility” to reach an agreement aimed at “ending the humanitarian tragedy” in Gaza.

Proof that the two sides are currently conducting a dialogue of the deaf, the Israeli army carried out strikes and artillery fire on the city of Rafah this Friday. In a statement on Friday, the army said it had located several tunnels in eastern Rafah and eliminated the militants “during close combat and airstrikes”.

On Monday (May 6th), Hamas accepted a cease-fire proposal that includes an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, as well as an exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, with the goal of a “permanent ceasefire.”

Israel opposes this and wants Hamas to be defeated first. The situation in Gaza was supposed to be discussed today at a special session of the UN General Assembly.

Hamas said on Friday (October 5, 2024) that Israel’s rejection of the Gaza ceasefire proposal was a return “to the beginning”.