UN ‘extremely worried’ about fate of civilians in Rafah

WASHINGTON (AA) – UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Friday voiced concern over Israeli premier’s plan for civilian evacuation from Rafah in southern Gaza.

“We are extremely worried about the fate of civilians in Rafah,” Dujarric told reporters in New York.

His remarks came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israeli Defense Forces to develop a plan to evacuate civilians from Rafah.

“What is clear is that people need to be protected, but we also do not want to see any forced displacement, forced mass displacement of people, which is by definition against their will,” Dujarric said.

The UN would not support in any way forced displacement which goes against international law, he stressed.

“The unprecedented density of Rafah’s population makes it nearly impossible to protect civilians in the event of ground attacks,” the spokesman added.

According to UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), he said, the congestion in Rafah has reached a point where normal routes are blocked by tents set up by families seeking any flat, clean space available.

“In the last three months, the city has produced the equivalent of a year’s worth of garbage, according to municipal authorities.

“OCHA says the scarcity of food, clean water, health services and sanitation facilities have led to preventable diseases and deaths,” he added.

Despite the International Court of Justice’s provisional ruling, Israel continues its onslaught on the Gaza Strip where it has killed at least 27,947 Palestinians, including 12,000 children and 8,190 women, since Oct. 7, according to Palestinian health authorities.

The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.