Palestinian families in Gaza Strip have nowhere safe to go: UN

By Rania Abu Shamala

ISTANBUL (AA) – The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) on Saturday said families in the Gaza Strip are facing dire circumstances with nowhere safe to seek refuge.

“Palestinian families in the #GazaStrip have nowhere safe to go,” said UNRWA on X.

The agency also quoted its spokeswoman in Gaza, Louise Wateridge, in an interview with The New York Times, saying: “It’s an endless cycle of death and displacement.”

“People express here that they are losing hope, they are losing the willpower, faced with another forced displacement and absolutely no certainty of safety,” Wateridge said.

“In terms of people’s ability to move, it’s been eight months of war, people are extremely fatigued, they’re exhausted, they’re malnourished."

She said “people are a lot weaker, there are more injuries, there’s been less medicine available, less fresh fruit, less water.”

Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee on Monday called for the evacuation of Palestinians from areas east of Khan Younis, forcing them to flee towards al-Mawasi area in Rafah.

Israel has continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

More than 38,000 Palestinians in Gaza have since been killed, mostly women and children, and vast tracts of the territory lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel also stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.