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An Israeli tank rolls past a position amid ongoing fighting as Palestinians flee Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip
Photo: AFP
A mass exodus from the embattled town of Khan Yunis to the border town of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip could have devastating consequences for the civilian population, according to a UN human rights expert. The city on the border with Egypt is already home to more than 1.3 million of the Gaza Strip's 2.2 million inhabitants, said Ajith Sunghay.
The situation there is already very tense because of the masses of internally displaced people and a lack of food, said the head of the UN Human Rights Office for the Palestinian Territories in a video link from Jordan.
"If many people flee Chan Yunis and other places, it will lead to a massive catastrophe," said Sunghay. A mass exodus to Rafah could lead to "unrest and a complete breakdown of public order." According to Sunghay, if the fighting between the Israeli army and the Islamist Hamas moved to Rafah, the civilian population would no longer have a chance to escape.
The UN human rights office in Geneva has repeatedly called for the protection of the Palestinian civilian population in letters and public appeals to Israeli authorities. "We have not received an official response," said human rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani.
In view of the fierce fighting in the south of the Gaza Strip, international pressure is growing on Israel to show more consideration for the civilian population in the military operation against Hamas. Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens), for example, urged Israel to show restraint.
Meanwhile, the International Court of Justice in The Hague (ICJ) obliged Israel in a first decision to prevent genocide. However, Israel does not have to immediately stop its military operation in the Gaza Strip, as the plaintiff South Africa demanded before the UN court.
aeh/AFP/dpa