The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has reported that approximately 110,000 people have fled Rafah in the last three days as Israel intensifies its military operations in the southern Gaza Strip city.
According to UNRWA, the escalation of Israeli airstrikes has led to a continued forced displacement of residents, with people desperately seeking safety.
On the platform “X,” UNRWA stated, “As Israeli bombing intensifies in the Palestinian area of Rafah, forced displacement continues. Estimates now show that about 110,000 people have fled Rafah in search of safety. However, there are no safe places left, living conditions are dire, and the only hope is an immediate ceasefire.”
As international warnings to Israel about a potential full-scale incursion into the Palestinian city of Rafah mount, Scott Anderson, Deputy Director of UNRWA, highlighted the dire situation in Gaza.
He warned that the agency’s food supplies in Gaza are expected to run out by Friday and noted that fuel reserves are also dwindling. Anderson described the city, which now houses 1.4 million people, many displaced from northern Gaza, as “a slowly unfolding disaster.”
In late January, Israel accused 12 of the approximately 13,000 UNRWA employees in Gaza of involvement in a Hamas attack on Israeli territory on October 7. This ongoing conflict continues to exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in the region.
