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Footage has shown tens of thousands of Palestinians, many of whom have already been displaced, fleeing from Rafah ahead of an expected Israeli offensive
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More than 100,000 Palestinians have fled the southern Gaza city of Rafah this week, the United Nations has reported, as Israel prepares to carry out a sweeping offensive in the region.
A spokesperson for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said that around 110,000 civilians have fled after Israeli tanks rolled into Rafah on Monday.
Despite calls from Israel’s staunchest allies to refrain from conducting an offensive in the area and instead agree to a ceasefire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netnyahu says they have “no choice” but to carry out the attack. Otherwise, he says, Hamas will carry out more assaults of their own against Israel.
Meanwhile, Georgios Petropoulos, the head of the Gaza sub-office of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said the situation in the enclave had reached “unprecedented levels of emergency”.
He said on Friday morning that dwindling food and fuel stocks, a direct result of the last remaining border crossings into Gaza being closed by Israeli troops entering Rafah, risked bringing aid operations to a grinding halt within just days.
Truckers stuck at Rafah crossing fear food won't reach hungry Gaza
Truck drivers stuck at Egypt’s border with Gaza say the food they are taking to the Palestinian enclave could spoil as they wait, exacerbating a hunger crisis among Gazans as war rages on.
Israeli forces seized control of the Rafah border crossing this week and are preparing for a widely expected assault on the city next to the frontier where about 1 million people uprooted by the war have been sheltering.
“The closure of the border crossing is not good for all these trucks because these are fridges, which means machine failure doesn’t give a warning. If the (fridge) stops working, then all of the food inside will be ruined,” said trucker Ahmed al-Bayoumi.
“Here, there’s no (technician) available to fix things and then we will have to handle the packages again. In any country in the world, food in fridges has priority to be delivered.”
Humanitarian workers sounded the alarm this week over the closure of both the Rafah crossing with Egypt and the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza for aid and people.
Tom Watling10 May 2024 15:00
Rishi Sunak slams protests and boycott calls over Israel’s Eurovision appearance
Downing Street said the prime minister urged demonstrators to consider the feelings of Israeli and Jewish Eurovision fans watching the scenes “in the aftermath of what was an atrocious terror attack and while hostages are still being held by Hamas”.
An estimated 10,000 to 12,000 pro-Palestinian protesters marched through Malmo, where the contest is being held, on Thursday.
Tom Watling10 May 2024 14:30
More than 100,000 Palestinians have fled Rafah this week, says UN official
Heavy fighting between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants on the outskirts of the southern Gaza city of Rafah has left crucial nearby aid crossings inaccessible and caused more than 100,000 people to flee north, a United Nations official said on Friday.
Israel’s plans for a full-scale invasion of Rafah appear to be on hold for now, with the US deeply opposed and stepping up pressure by threatening to withhold arms. But even the more limited incursion launched earlier this week threatens to worsen Gaza’s humanitarian catastrophe.
Heavy fighting was also under way in northern Gaza, where Hamas appeared to have once again regrouped in an area where Israel has already launched punishing assaults.
About 110,000 people have fled Rafah and food and fuel supplies in the area are critically low, a UN official has said.
All crossings into southern Gaza remain closed, cutting off supplies and preventing medical evacuations and the movement of humanitarian staff, said Georgios Petropoulos, an official for the UN’s Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs working in Rafah.
Some 1.3 million Palestinians - more than half Gaza’s population - had sought refuge in Rafah.
Tom Watling10 May 2024 14:00
Netanyahu says Israel has 'no choice' but to destroy Hamas
Tom Watling10 May 2024 13:30
Why is Israel competing in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024?
Eden Golan is representing Israel with the track “Hurricane”, which was reworked from original entry “October Rain” after it was alleged to include references to the 7 October attacks by Hamas, therefore breaching the European Broadcasting Union’s (EBU) rules over political songs.
The Israel-born Golan, who grew up in Russia, told ITV News this week that she could not have asked “for a better year to be representing my country”.
Tom Watling10 May 2024 13:00
Greta Thunberg joins thousands protesting against Israel competing in Eurovision
The climate activist, 21, was at the Stop Israel demonstration, between Stortorget and Molleplatsen in the centre of the Swedish city ahead of a performance by singer Eden Golan - who represented Israel in the second semi-final on Thursday night (9 May).
Ms Thunberg was wearing a keffiyeh, a scarf commonly used to show support for Palestine, around her body in the centre of the crowd.
She was seen flanked by other young activists.
Greta Thunberg joins thousands protesting against Israel competing in Eurovision
Greta Thunberg has joined pro-Palestine protests in Malmo against Israel competing in the Eurovision Song Contest. The climate activist, 21, was at the Stop Israel demonstration, between Stortorget and Molleplatsen in the centre of the Swedish city ahead of a performance by singer Eden Golan - who represented Israel in the second semi-final on Thursday night (9 May). Ms Thunberg was wearing a keffiyeh, a scarf commonly used to show support for Palestine, around her body in the centre of the crowd. She was seen flanked by other young activists.
Tom Watling10 May 2024 12:30
Watch live view of camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah as Israeli strikes intensify
Tom Watling10 May 2024 12:00
Aid operations in Gaza could grind to a halt within days, UN agencies warn
Dwindling food and fuel stocks could force aid operations to grind to a halt within days in Gaza as vital crossings remain shut, forcing hospitals to shut down and leading to more malnutrition, United Nations aid agencies have warned.
The situation in Gaza has reached “even more unprecedented levels of emergency,” Georgios Petropoulos, the head of the Gaza sub-office of UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told reporters in a briefing.
Tom Watling10 May 2024 11:20
For Biden and Netanyahu, Gaza is a balancing act for their political survival
The US president’s calculations must centre on the November election – Netanyahu’s, on maintaining US support and honouring his promises to Israelis, writes Mary Dejevsky. For both men’s political futures, the stakes couldn’t be higher
Tom Watling10 May 2024 11:00
Netanyahu says Israel has ‘no choice’ but to destroy Hamas
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel has “no choice” but to destroy Hamas as he fends off objections from the country’s staunchest allies.
“If we do not destroy [Hamas], if we leave them alone they’ll come back. They’ll emerge from the tunnels, they’ll take over Gaza again, and they’ll do what they promised to do: They’ll do October 7 — this enormous massacre — again, again and again,” Mr Netanyahu told US TV personality Dr Phil.
“Rational-minded people understand that we don’t have a choice.”
His comments came just before US President Joe Biden said he could suspend weapons shipments to Israel if they press ahead with a ground offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinian civilians have been displaced after seven months of war.
Mr Netanyahu admitted he had had “disagreements” with allies, including the US, over how Israel has conducted its operations in Gaza but added that they had to do what they have to do “to protect our country”.
Tom Watling10 May 2024 10:45
