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Gaza refugees are of concern to the UN and Arab countries. Photo/Reuters
GAZA – Israel’s order to Gaza residents to move further south towards the Egyptian border during the attacks and the dire humanitarian situation has sparked Arab and UN fears that Palestinians will eventually be driven over the border.
Israel denies having plans to push Palestinians into Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, while it seeks to crush Hamas following the group’s Oct. 7 attack on Israeli territory. It said it had asked Gazans to move for their own safety.
5 Main Concerns of the UN and Arab Countries regarding Palestinian Refugees in the Gaza War
1. Trauma with the Nakba
Photo/Reuters
According to Reuters, Palestinians have long been haunted by what they call the “Nakba”, or catastrophe, when 700,000 of them were driven from their homes when Israel was founded in 1948.
Many of them were expelled or fled to neighboring Arab countries, including Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, where many of them or their descendants still live in refugee camps. There are also those who go to Gaza. Israel denies claims that they were forced out.
The latest conflict was marked by unprecedented Israeli bombing and ground attacks on Gaza, destroying urban areas throughout the enclave. Palestinian and UN officials say there are no longer safe areas in Gaza to seek refuge.
2. Israel Expels Gaza Residents to the Egyptian Border
Photo/Reuters
Before Israel launched a ground attack on Gaza, Israel initially asked Palestinian residents in northern Gaza to move to areas considered safe in the southern region. As the attacks spread, Israel ordered them to move further south towards Rafah, which lies next to Egypt, the only country besides Israel that shares a border with the enclave, which is only 40 km (24.85 miles) long and several kilometers.
According to UN estimates, up to 85% of the 2.3 million people in Gaza – one of the world’s most densely populated territories – have fled their homes and are now crammed into an increasingly small area near the border.
3. There were never mass refugees before the Gaza war
Photo/Reuters
According to Reuters, there has been no precedent for people fleeing en masse from Gaza during the conflict and conflict with Israel in recent years, even though there has never been a fierce war like this. However, there were several incidents when Gaza’s border with Egypt was violated, even though the number of people crossing was in the hundreds or thousands, and these people did not seek shelter or stay.
After Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, Palestinians broke through the fence, and some climbed using makeshift routes and using ropes. In one place, Palestinian militants hit a concrete barrier to create a hole.