"I can’t stay, I want to live" : the anguish of these residents of Rafah who fear a ground offensive by the Israeli army
Cairo: Hani Kamal El-Din
Will there be a new offensive by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip? Israel bombed several sectors of the Gaza Strip on Thursday April 25, 2024, such as the town of Rafah where the army is preparing for a ground operation in its war against Hamas, despite warnings from the international community. After more than six months of strikes and fierce ground fighting, which left most of the Gaza Strip in ruins, Israel estimates that Hamas has four battalions grouped in Rafah, in the far south of the territory, the border with Egypt.
“Last night there were bombings. They bombed three or four targets. Even the sound of bombing, you feel it’s a new kind of explosives.”, testifies Nabil. With his three children, he wants to leave the enclave as quickly as possible for Egypt, like the 80 to 100,000 Gazans who have already crossed the border since the start of the war, as the ambassador declared on Thursday April 25. Palestinian in Cairo.
The Rafah crossing point is in theory the only opening to the world of Gaza that is not under direct Israeli control. In practice, Israel retains a right of oversight over the entry and exit of goods and people and this is how humanitarian aid intended for Gaza passes, in dribs and drabs. “I can not stay. I want to live in peace. Me, I want to live, to make my children grow up. But to leave Gaza, you have to pay: €5,000 for each person to the Egyptians. You can’t go out like that. Do they want me to sell my kidneys or something? I can’t have €20,000, it’s horrible! I can not stand it anymore“, denounces this French-speaking father.
Samira is condemned to stay in Rafah: “You know, the problem is that my parents are old. My father is almost 90 years old. Until now, I’m praying that they don’t enter Rafah, because really, it’s going to be a disaster.” She therefore decided to wait with her family for the Israeli ground offensive which she had heard about for several weeks, but which she did not see coming. “The press talks about a month, a few weeks after the Jewish holidays in Israel… Until now, things are not clear”
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