From the Liveblog of
Friday, February 2, 2024
UN warns Gaza’s Rafah becoming a ‘pressure cooker of despair’
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GENEVA — The United Nations warns that Rafah is becoming a “pressure cooker of despair” as thousands of people flee into the city from Khan Younis and other parts of southern Gaza as the Israel-Hamas war grinds on.
Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, also says the situation in Rafah is “not looking good” amid concerns that the city may be a new focus of Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza.
“Rafah is a pressure cooker of despair and we fear for what comes next,” he tells a regular UN briefing in Geneva. “It’s like every week we think, you know, it can’t get any worse. Well, go figure. It gets worse.
“It’s very important for us and for OCHA to put on record today our deep concern about what’s happening in Khan Yunis and Rafah in the southern part of the strip because it’s really not looking good,” Laerke adds.
The war was sparked on October 7 when Hamas-led terrorists stormed the border and rampaged through southern Israel communities, killing some 1,200 and taking 253 hostages amid acts of brutality and sexual violence.
In response, Israel launched a war against Hamas, with the stated aims of toppling the terror group’s rule in Gaza, and the return of all the hostages.
The Times of Israel Community.