Israel-Hamas war: Nearly half a million people flee fighting in Rafah and northern Gaza, UN says

Palestinians displaced by the Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip walk through a makeshift tent camp in Deir al Balah, Gaza. Photo / AP

Nearly half a million Palestinians have been displaced in recent days by escalating Israeli military operations in southern and northern Gaza, the United Nations says.

About 360,000 Palestinians were driven from the southern Gaza city of Rafah over the past week, out of 1.3 million people sheltering there before the latest operation began, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said.

Israeli forces are also battling Hamas militants in northern Gaza, where the Army had launched major operations earlier in the war. The Israeli Army issued evacuation orders that have displaced about 100,000 people so far, UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters today NZT.

No food has entered the two main border crossings in southern Gaza for the past week. Some 1.1 million Palestinians in Gaza face catastrophic levels of hunger, on the brink of starvation, and a “full-blown famine” is taking place in the north, according to the UN.

Seven months of Israeli bombardment and ground operations in Gaza have killed more than 35,000 people, most of them women and children, according to local health officials.

The war began on October 7 when Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing around 1200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting about 250 others. Israel says militants still hold about 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.

Israeli evacuation orders issued for northern Gaza amid its ongoing bombardment in the area “have resulted in the displacement of some 100,000 people so far,” the UN says.

Haq said those fleeing the north are in addition to the nearly 360,000 people that have fled the southern city of Rafah since the first Israeli evacuation order there a week ago.

After an explosion in the Gaza Strip, an Israeli tank stands near the Israel-Gaza border. Photo / AP

“We remain deeply concerned about the lack of protection for civilians – and the lack of safety for humanitarian operations,” Haq said.

Under international humanitarian law, he stressed, “civilians must be protected and have their basic needs met, whether they move or stay” and “those who leave must have enough time to do so, as well as a safe route and a safe place to go”.

Haq said he believes “a small amount” of fuel got into Gaza over the weekend, and the UN has been rationing what it has, “so we’re not in a shutdown mode, but we’re very low on fuel”.