Criticism of Rafah plan

UN: No involvement in “forced displacement”

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have fled from the north of the Gaza Strip to the border town of Rafah, which was previously considered safe. They were mainly housed in temporary tent camps. Now they are to be brought to safety from the fighting once again.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Mahmud Hams)

While the Israeli army is currently working on a plan that will form the basis for a ground offensive in Rafah and also include an evacuation plan for the civilian population, the UN has already made it clear that it will not take part in "forced expulsions" of Palestinians.

The UN emergency aid office OCHA stated on Tuesday: "The Israeli government has not discussed such plans with us. Irrespective of this, we will not participate in plans to forcibly displace people. Nor would we provide tent cities elsewhere for Israeli forces to forcibly relocate people." 

Israel's government had called on UN organizations working in the region to help with the evacuation of civilians from Rafah. The plans reportedly envisage that the civilians will be brought to safety in areas further north of the border town of Rafah. The armed forces see Rafah as the last bastion of the Islamist Hamas, which they want to destroy in the course of the Gaza war.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have fled from the north of the Gaza Strip to the border town of Rafah, which was previously considered safe. They were mainly housed in temporary tent camps. Now they are once again to be brought to safety from the fighting.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Mahmud Hams)

International pressure on Israel is growing
According to the UN, more than 1.4 million people who have fled Israeli attacks in other parts of the Gaza Strip are now camped in the city, which once had 300,000 inhabitants. More than 2.2 million people live in the coastal area, which is slightly larger than Munich. In view of the refugee situation in Rafah, the attack plans have been criticized worldwide - even by close allies such as the USA.

International pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government is growing. Top representatives from the USA, Israel, Qatar and Egypt sought a ceasefire in the Gaza war at a meeting in Cairo on Tuesday. US President Joe Biden had previously called for the civilians trapped in Rafah to be "protected". Following a meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah II at the White House, Biden said that many people in Rafah had been "displaced multiple times", "fleeing the violence in the north, and now they are crowded into Rafah - unprotected and vulnerable".

The US government is working on an "agreement to release the hostages, which will bring an immediate and at least six-week period of calm" for the Gaza Strip. In Washington, Abdullah II urged an "immediate and permanent ceasefire" for the Gaza Strip. "We cannot allow an Israeli attack on Rafah. This will certainly cause another humanitarian catastrophe," said the Jordanian ruler.