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Hundreds of thousands of fleeing Gazans sought shelter on Thursday in one of the biggest mass displacements of the war, as Israeli forces advanced into the ruins of the city of Rafah, part of a newly announced “security zone” they intend to seize.
A day after declaring their intention to capture large swathes of the crowded enclave, the Israeli force pushed into the city on Gaza’s southern edge which had served as a last refuge for people fleeing other areas for much of the war.
Gaza’s health ministry reported at least 97 people killed in Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours, including at least 20 killed in an airstrike around dawn in Shejaia suburb of Gaza City.
Rafah “is gone, it is being wiped out, “A father of seven among the hundreds of thousands who had fled from Rafah to neighbouring Khan Younis, told Reuters via a chat app.
“They are knocking down what is left standing of houses and property,” said the man who declined to be identified for fear of repercussions.
After a strike killed several people in Khan Younis, Adel Abu Fakher was checking the damage to his tent.
“Is anything left for us? There’s nothing left for us. We’re being killed while asleep,” he said.
The assault to capture Rafah is a major escalation in the war, which Israel restarted last month after effectively abandoning a ceasefire in place since January.
