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Rabat – Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has declared the Israeli Occupation Forces’ intention to expand its bloody campaign into the southern city of Rafah.
Gallant’s statement declaring that “victory won’t be complete unless the military expands into Rafah,” has raised alarms, particularly as the southern city of Gaza was previously declared a “safe zone.”
The move was met with deep apprehension, as Rafah is currently home to 1.9 million Palestinians who have been forced to flee their homes and are now squeezed into the overcrowded city without basic supplies for survival.
Gallant shared on X, formerly Twitter, an image of him alongside Israeli soldiers in Khan Younis, located around 11 kilometers north of Rafah.
“The Khan Yunis Brigade of Hamas is disbanded; we will complete the mission there and continue to Rafah … We will continue until the end, there is no other way,” he said.
The United Nations humanitarian office has expressed deep concern about the situation in Khan Younis, which led to a significant increase in internally displaced people seeking refuge in Rafah.
Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, described Rafah as a “pressure cooker of despair.”
He explained that thousands of Palestinians have been forced to flee to the southern Gaza Strip, an area already hosting over half of the region’s population. “We fear for what comes next,” Laerke said.
The situation is already dire in southern Gaza as civilians struggle for access to food, drinking water, and healthcare, on top of grappling with the harsh winter conditions.
Distressing footage posted on social media by Palestinian journalist Ma’an Abu Taha shows children queuing in long lines for food in the besieged enclave.
The UN said that the region is facing famine-like conditions, with people resorting to using animal feed for sustenance due to the destruction of Gaza’s food system amid Israeli bombardment.
