UPDATE - UNRWA chief says claim of safe zones in Gaza 'false and misleading'

UPDATES WITH STATEMENTS BY BALAKRISHNAN RAJAGOPAL, UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE RIGHT TO ADEQUATE HOUSING

By Muhammed Yasin Gungor

ISTANBUL (AA) - Commissioner-general of the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) on Sunday expressed concern over the persistent displacement of Palestinians from their homes, suggesting there are no safe zones in Gaza.

"The Israeli authorities continue to issue forced displacement orders also known as 'evacuation orders'. This is forcing people in Rafah to flee anywhere and everywhere," Philippe Lazzarini said on X.

He said that since war began last October, most people in Gaza have moved multiple times, and "desperately sought safety that they never found."

"The claim of “safe zones” is false and misleading. No place is safe in Gaza. Period," he added.

- 'I have never seen a shocking atrocity like this'

Quoting Lazzarani's post, UN special rapporteur on the right to housing, Balakrishnan Rajgopal, said he had not seen such conditions in over three decades.

"In over 30 years of studying and engaging with communities affected by displacement, I have never seen a shocking atrocity like this. Multiple forced displacement of generations, compelled to be on the run," he said.

The UN agency has estimated that at least 150,000 people have fled Rafah since Monday, when Israel ordered residents be evacuated and went ahead with an operation despite concerns by allies and others.

Israel has killed over 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza, in retaliation for an Oct. 7 cross-border incursion by Hamas which killed around 1,200 lives. About 85% of the enclave's 2.3 million is internally displaced, and there are widespread shortages of food, water and medicine.