With An Israeli Invasion Looming, Rafah Nears Its Breaking Point

Escalating attacks, unlivable conditions in tents, and a looming Israeli invasion are forcing many Palestinians to abandon the Strip’s last refuge.

by Ruwaida Kamal Amer and Ibtisam Mahdi, +972 Magazine

Rafah is nearing breaking point. The small city on Gaza’s southern border with Egypt has swelled in recent months to accommodate approximately 1.5 million Palestinians displaced from all over the besieged Strip. Residing predominantly in hastily erected and poorly insulated tents, and starving from the severe lack of food, every family here has a heart wrenching story of loss and survival. The fear of what’s still to come, though, is overpowering.

Rafah was supposed to be a “safe zone,” a haven in which to seek refuge from Israel’s relentless bombardment and ground assault. But this was never really the case: Israel has been bombing Rafah the whole time. Now the airstrikes are intensifying — even targeting the tent encampments — and the Israeli army’s long-threatened invasion of the city appears imminent.

Palestinians evacuate wounded after an Israeli airstrike in Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, on October 12 2023

On March 2, an Israeli airstrike killed at least 11 Palestinians living in tents next to the Emirati Hospital in the Tel al-Sultan neighborhood, west of Rafah’s center. Mahmoud Ahmed, 36, was nearby with his family. “We were sitting and talking in our tent when suddenly we heard the sound of a powerful explosion and felt the tent being blown aside,” he told +972.