Smoke billowed over Rafah and the bombardment continued.
Secretary-General António Guterres issued a statement today through his spokesman expressing alarm at the escalation of IDF military activities in and around Rafah.
Guterres said these developments have further hampered humanitarian access and exacerbated an already dire situation. He stressed that civilians in Rafah and elsewhere in Gaza must be respected and protected at all times. Nowhere is safe for the people of Gaza right now.
At the same time, the Secretary-General said that Hamas continued to fire rockets indiscriminately. He reiterated his urgent appeal to all parties to immediately implement a humanitarian ceasefire and to release all hostages. He called for the immediate reopening of the Rafah crossing to allow unhindered humanitarian access throughout Gaza.
450,000 Gazans fled Rafah
Much of Rafah city is now a "ghost town" and that some 450,000 Gazans have been forced to evacuate from the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip since May 6 because of Israel's evacuation order, the United Nations humanitarian agency said on Tuesday.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) posted on social media that the streets of Rafah were deserted and that many families continued to flee in search of safety.
Louise Wateridge, a spokesman for UNRWA in Gaza, said it was hard to believe that more than 1 million people had taken refuge here a week ago. People face constant exhaustion, hunger, and fear. No place is safe. An immediate ceasefire is the only hope.
The north and south were bombed at the same time
Israeli air strikes continued, with simultaneous bombardment of northern and southern Gaza. According to reports, the Israeli military said it had airstrikes on 120 targets in the past 24 hours.
In its latest briefing released late Monday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said ground incursions and heavy fighting continued in eastern Rafah, Gaza City and Jabaliya refugee camps. Many of those who were forced to leave eastern Rafah have been displaced several times over the past seven months.
In northern Gaza, Israel issued an evacuation order last Saturday amid continued bombardment. To date, some 100,000 people have left their homes and shelters.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs continues to be deeply concerned about the lack of protection of civilians and the lack of security for humanitarian operations. In the last week alone, one fifth of Gaza's population has been displaced.
The agency noted that civilians must be protected and that their basic needs must be met, whether they are on the move or staying put. For those who choose to leave, it is essential to give enough time, as well as a safe route and place to go.
Data on the number of deaths
Meanwhile, the UN agency denied false claims about the decrease in the number of dead and wounded in Gazan, after the Gaza health authorities announced that about 25,000 of the 35,000 dead reported had been identified.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva, OHCHR spokesperson Liz Throssell said, "We're talking about 35,000 deaths, and that's what matters. We know that many of them are women and children. Thousands more are missing, possibly buried under the rubble of the rubble. ”
The World Health Organization notes that given the "huge death toll" in Gaza, the health sector must have spent a lot of time verifying the deaths.
Christian Lindmeier, a spokesman for the WHO, said that about 10,000 bodies had not yet been identified. Of the 24,686 identified deceased, 40 per cent were men, 20 per cent were women, 32 per cent were children and 8 per cent were elderly.
Lindmeier said it was "quite likely" that more bodies of women and children would be found from the destroyed houses, as male members would generally go out in search of food, livelihoods and supplies for their families.
He said that these numbers represent living people. As a result, when people are still buried under rubble, their bodies abandoned in mass graves, or in the streets, and when the authorities are unable to collect them for security reasons, the identity of the dead cannot be confirmed.
