Hopes for ceasefire ‘literally blown up’: Relentless bombardments in Rafah, like ‘lying in a coffin’

Hopes for ceasefire ‘literally blown up’: Relentless bombardments in Rafah, like ‘lying in a coffin’

[Music] we begin with events in Gaza thousands of people starting to leave the Eastern suburbs of Rafer and the south of Gaza remember these are people more than a million people more than half the population many displace a number of times in the early hours of this morning the Israeli Air Force dropped leaflets in the east of the city telling people to move more North to Kan Yunis to alasi as well other areas because the IDF said there will be a limited scope operation about 100,000 people are expected to be affected let’s get a sense of what’s been going on packed into cars and carts families are fleeing rougher after Israel’s military air dropped leaflets telling people to evacuate immediately many have already fled Israel’s offensive several times we fled death and destruction to seek safety in Rafa only to find the same thing here the idea have called on residents in the city’s Eastern Zone to move to the expanded humanitarian area at alasi on gaza’s nearby Coast this as Columns of smoke Rose over Gaza following reported air strikes in eastern Rafa overnight Israeli strikes in Rafa reportedly killed at least 19 people this baby born at the start of the war and orphaned soon after by an Israeli strike was among the dead what has he done to deserve this US Secretary of State Anthony blinkin said Israel had yet to present a credible plan to protect civilians and without it Washington would not support an offensive on Rafa speaking in Jerusalem at a Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would not be deterred even if Israel is forced to stand alone we will stand alone and we will continue to strike our enemies powerfully until victory it comes as attempts at a ceasefire deal and release of hostages have stalled in Cairo Israeli defense minister yov Galant told his us counterpart on Sunday that military action is required in Rafa after a lack of progress in these talks a line from the UN agency UNICEF saying quote 600,000 children face catastrophe in Rafa let’s bring in James Elder from the organization James has been working extensively in Gaza through the conflict he’s now in Geneva thank you for talking to us James let’s let’s start off with your experience of what’s going on right now and what you make of the evacuation plan that Israel seems to be advising people to do to on thei to Han Unice too yeah it’s it’s everything that everyone feared Gavin that everyone warned about uh seems to be seems to be happening um these are people who are as you said in your show they’ve moved so many times they’re exhausted they’ve had their coping capacities absolutely smashed when you look at those children in Rafa I’ve sat in tents with children in Rafa who’ve had amputations who should be in hospital but the hospitals are overcrowded are overflowing with children with the wounds of War so they have to have this turnover so the idea that they can now suddenly up and leave again to another area remembering Moi Al Moi the area you talk of there’s a reason why no one really lived there until a few months ago this is sand this is the only place where you can’t build and you can’t grow anything so people in Rafa who were 3 and a half thousand people to a shower 3 and a half thousand to one shower all day cues for the elderly for a teenage girl they are going to an area with even less so this idea they’re going to a humanitarian Zone as it’s been called um it makes no sense we are humanitarians and we have not set up these zones so they’re leaving places often Under Fire they are exhausted they don’t know where to go their homes have been destroyed so many people Built Homes as they would around the world as their egest they are rubble and they’ve been asked to move again and they know full well if you’re right in one of these evacuation zones they know they have no choice but to run to the run for their lives they just don’t know where to run to James the old adage in journalism is to understand and tell the story is narrow the distance between yourself and the story but we can’t International journalist not allowed into Gaza unless on brief embeds as they call them with Israeli troops in and out for a few hours you’ve been to hunis you’ve seen the area that’s the other area where the IDF are saying that there will be Aid if people go that way what’s that like I’ve never seen the devastation of a place like KH unas in my two decades with uh with the United Nations Gavin KH yunas is Rubble as far as you can see and that unfortunately speaks to something that’s that’s not targeted strikes when you are looking at at 360° of destroyed homes and buildings and apartment blocks that speaks to the indiscriminate nature with which this war has been fought that’s why 2third two-thirds of all homes in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed so there’s nothing to go to in Gaza remembering it’s not just people need shelter they need medical support now more than ever in in garen’s life do they need medical support they need nutrition they need sanitation those things have been destroyed NASA hospital was one of the three biggest biggest hospitals in the Gaza Strip that’s in car Unice that’s not operational shifa Hospital of course is no longer European hospital is the last largest standing Hospital in the Gaza Strip and it is right on that evacuation zone so that’s tens of thousands of people that will have to be evacuating and all the sick so again people are moving to places where they know there is not the medical attention and the simple water and toilet that people expect and need on a daily basis you’ve seen you know around the world in the last few days us protest that sense of frustration helpl helplessness that have seen what’s this Dynamic of of young people protesting I just wonder what toll that’s taken on you and your staff just covering this you’ve described in graphic detail what you’ve seen in the course of the past few months and just how that’s affecting you I think everyone has just Fallen time and time again with this hope be it those who spent time in Gaza like me those who live in Gaza for a ceasefire and a ceasefire gives people a week or two of Hope and they felt that the last few days it’s ceasefire gets hostages home it ends that ends that torment and allows people to to to flood the Gaza Strip with Aid We’re realizing those hopes are being literally blown up so people are exhausted Gavin I spoke to a young colleague of mine she’s in her 20s Palestinians one of my colleagues in Rafa her family home where I’ve been her name is ran um I’ve been to a family home her mom her dad couple of siblings couple of dogs and they are in that evacuation they are leaving a regular middle class four-bedroom you know two-story house they’re going to the middle area it’s called derbala where rivers of sewage are running through that such as the devastation and when I spoke to her Gavin even though she knew or she feared this day would come she was frozen she said James I just don’t know where to pack I cannot think so it’s a great question because we must remember this is six or seven months for these people under un going going through this Relentless bombardment you lie in Rafa and it’s like lying in a coffin with bombardments getting closer and closer you start to learn okay that’s about half a mile away or that’s you know few hundred meters away they’ve done that day in day out and now they are moving again so physically and psychologically they are spent they’re exhausted James your voice is so important you as a fourth estate given journalists can’t get in there what you’ve seen what you’ve witnessed thank you so much for talking to us and we will keep in touch with you in future uh thank you James zelder from UNICEF

UNICEF warned that around 600,000 children packed into Rafah face “further catastrophe”. Soon after the war started, Israel told Palestinians in northern Gaza to move south to “safe zones” — including Rafah. But Rafah has been repeatedly bombed and Palestinians say nowhere in Gaza is safe. As Hamas accepts a Gaza ceasefire proposal, and Israel urges Rafah evacuation ahead of an all-out military assault, FRANCE 24’s Gavin Lee is joined by UNICEF Global Spokesperson James Elder.
#Gaza #Rafah #Israel

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