More than 1 million Palestinians are cornered in Rafah, after they evacuated from North Gaza, all the way to the border of Egypt. They have nowhere else to go.
What is Rafah?
Rafah is located in the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
On the Palestinian side, it’s known as Gaza’s southernmost governorate and capital city. On the Egyptian side, it is a city in the North Sinai governorate. Palestinian Rafah is 64sq km (25sq miles).
More and more Palestinians have been forced to move into Rafah by Israeli forces who keep promising safety “further south”. The idea of safety by Israel is continued air strikes.
Approximately 1.4 million Palestinians have now been pushed into Rafah by relentless Israeli bombing that has killed nearly 30,000 Palestinians.
Israel continues to attack
To date, Israel has bombed North Gaza, Central Gaza, Deir Al-Balah, Khan Younis, and finally Rafah.
On 12 February, as Americans were distracted by the Super Bowl, Israel conducted air strikes on Rafah. Killing more than 100 people a day.
Even personnel of UNRWA, tasked to give aid to Palestinian refugees, are being killed by Israeli attacks. This comes right after Israel accused UNRWA of employing Hamas terrorists. Which, until now, Israel has failed to provide any hard evidence.
Reactions of the international community
South Africa first brought charges against Israel to the International Court of Justice. The result of which, the ICJ rules Israel to investigate themselves for any cause of genocide, and to prevent any form of genocide against the Palestinians.
For some, the ruling was ridiculous, for others, it was a sign of hope. Hope that despite ICJ’s reluctance, a declaration was made. Israel is officially suspected of genocide.
The ICJ is now conducting a public hearing. More than 50 countries gave their stance on the issue, in hopes of resolving the matter once and for all.
China declares that Palestine has a right to armed resistance against colonialist settlers. The US on the other hand, urges the ICJ to not force Israel out of Palestine.
This is all happening on the world stage, as Palestinians continue to be murdered every day and night. Strongly worded condemnations can only go so far.
If nothing changes, the world will witness the final moments of the Palestinians.
Image by Al Jazeera.
