Gazans say hunger is growing, fuelling fears of exodus into Egypt
- 11 Dec 2023
Fighting between Israel and Hamas intensified across Gaza on Monday, fuelling fears flagged by the United Nations at the weekend of a breakdown in public order and a mass exodus of Palestinians into Egypt.
The narrow coastal strip has been under a full Israeli blockade since the start of the conflict more than two months ago and the border with Egypt is the only other way out.
Most of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been driven from their homes and residents say it is impossible to find refuge in the densely populated enclave, with around 18,000 people already killed and conflict intensifying.
Since the breakdown of a week-long ceasefire, Israel launched a ground offensive in the south last week and has since pushed from the east into the heart of the major city of Khan Younis, with warplanes attacking an area to the west.
Gazans forced to flee repeatedly described desperate attacks on aid trucks, sky high prices, and said people were dying of hunger and cold as well as bombardment.
"Hunger is the base for all evils that destroy the social fabric of communities," writer Aziz Almasri said on Facebook. "It is the second face of the war we see today in Gaza."
In the northern Gazan city of Jabalia, Palestinians ran to escape smoke bombs fired near tents and other homes.
Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee issued a new call on X on Monday for Gaza residents to evacuate Gaza City and other areas of the north as well as Khan Younis in the south.
UN officials say 1.9 million people — 85 per cent of Gaza's population — are displaced and describe the conditions in the southern areas where they have concentrated as hellish.
"I expect public order to completely break down soon and an even worse situation could unfold including epidemic diseases and increased pressure for mass displacement into Egypt," UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Sunday.
Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner general of UNRWA, the UN body responsible for the welfare of Palestinian refugees, said the Gazans driven from their homes were being pushed closer and closer to the border.
"The developments we are witnessing point to attempts to move Palestinians into Egypt," Lazzarini wrote in the Los Angeles Times.
The border with Egypt is heavily fortified, but Hamas militants blew holes in the wall in 2008 to break a tight blockade. Gazans crossed to buy food and other goods but quickly returned, with none permanently displaced.
Egypt has long warned it would not allow Gazans into its territory this time, fearing they would not be able to return.
Around 18,000 people have been killed by Israeli attacks, with 49,500 injured, according to Gaza health authorities. About 100 of the Israeli hostages were freed during a week-long truce that ended on Dec. 1.
Germany said too many innocent people had died in the conflict and urged Israel to adapt its strategy.
Palestinian activists called for a global strike on Monday to try to pressure Israel into a ceasefire, but it was unclear if it had spread beyond the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The Gaza health ministry said 32 Palestinians had been killed in Khan Younis since early Sunday evening and 15 others were wounded.
Reuters
