Palestinians in southern Gaza are currently returning northwards, caught between two land borders (with Egypt and Israel) and the Mediterranean Sea following Tel Aviv’s request for tens of thousands of residents to leave Rafah’s east.
Palestinian refugee Marwan al-Masri, who was forced to move northward in the besieged zone after Israeli tanks and troops stormed Rafah’s east, claimed that “life has completely ceased.”
After being uprooted from northern Gaza, 35-year-old Masri claimed that “life has completely ceased in the downtown area of Rafah”.
“Markets are paralyzed, and the streets are empty of people,” he said to the AFP news agency.
“We all feel fear of any advancement in the invasion, as happened in the eastern areas, which are now completely empty of residents” .
During months of fighting the Palestinians, Israeli soldiers forced their way southward from the northern coastal area, packing more than 1.5 million people into the city of Rafah on Gaza’s southern border with Egypt.
Rafah’s population, which has experienced numerous displacements during the seven-month conflict, is currently returning north in response to an order from Israeli occupation troops for tens of thousands of residents to leave the city’s eastern sector.
Masri stated that the constant shelling he and his family believe is coming closer to them is the reason they “are all tense and frightened.”
After being forced from the Al-Bureij camp in central Gaza, Ibtihal al-Arouqi claimed she was homeless once more.
“We emerged from under the rubble of our house in Al-Bureij, and now due to intense shelling in Rafah, my children and I are in the street” , she stated.
The 39-year-old said that she had a Caesarean section just two weeks prior.
“We have no idea where to go. No location is safe,” Arouqi continued.
Several Palestinians still live in west Rafah, where she was speaking.
The west of the city has also been shelled by Israel, although it is still comparatively quieter than the heavily bombed east, according to an AFP journalist.
The constant Israeli shelling, according to Arouqi and Masri, has made it difficult to breathe due to the smoke and dust in the air.
Mohammed Abu Mughaiseeb, a medical coordinator for the humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Rafah, described the situation as “chaotic.”
He spoke of “people carrying their things, mattresses, blankets, kitchen items on trucks” as they fled east Rafah after being uprooted from Gaza City himself.
However, Abu Mughaiseeb told AFP that “there’s no space anymore in the west of Rafah.”
He went on, citing the closure of the city’s Al-Najjar Hospital and its evacuation by the medical team “to avoid what happened in Al-Shifa or Nasser,” two other Gazan medical institutions that had been invaded by Israeli forces during the conflict.
between two boundaries on land and the sea
Many of those escaping Rafah headed north, caught between Israeli shelling to the east, an Egyptian border to the south, and the Mediterranean to the west.
They made their way to Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, where thousands of tents lined the shore, and the adjoining city of Khan Younis.
Ahmed Fadel, 22, is one of many who is making his way back to the northern regions of Gaza from which he had previously escaped during the conflict.
Originally from Gaza City, he was moved to the Nuseirat camp in the center of the city before being told to leave when Israeli forces moved into the adjoining Al-Bureij camp.
“We left and moved to Rafah but they [Israelis] pummelled and threatened the city, so we came to Deir al-Balah — which is already crammed,” according to him.
Long lines of displaced Palestinians, carrying whatever possessions they could, fled Rafah on foot, in tuk-tuks, lorries, and carts pushed by donkeys, as reported by AFP journalists.
Thousands of tents and shelters were jam-packed throughout the seaside area of Deir al-Balah on Wednesday, according to AFP film.
People were selling goods or unloading items in the crowded streets below.
Abdelmajid al-Kurd, a local businessman, told AFP that Deir al-Balah is a small city.
“It’s a very small town that is now extremely overcrowded” , he stated.
“There’s no room or facilities to accommodate these people.”
SOURCE: TRTWORLD
