‘Pressure cooker of despair’: UN says Gaza refugee surge in border town

The remarks come as Israel prepares to push its war in Gaza further south.

Geneva:

The U.N. humanitarian office expressed concern on Friday about hostilities in Khan Younis that are forcing more people to flee to Rafah in Gaza’s southern tip, calling the border town a “pressure cooker of despair.”

The comments come as Israel prepares to push its war on Gaza further south, closer to the Egyptian border, where most Gazans have sought refuge from Israeli attacks.

“I would like to stress our deep concern at the escalation of hostilities in Khan Younis, which has led to an increase in the number of internally displaced persons seeking asylum in Rafah in recent days,” said UNHCR spokesman Jens Larke. Humanitarian Socialist affairs coordination.

More than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have taken refuge in the area, mostly starving in makeshift tents and public buildings.

“Rafa is like a pressure cooker of despair and we are worried about what will happen next,” Larke said.

Gaza residents said Israeli forces attacked areas around Khan Younis Hospital and intensified attacks near Rafah.

“Khan Younis is also under increasing attack and it is alarming to hear of heavy fighting taking place near the hospital, endangering the safety of medical staff, sick and wounded, and thousands of internally displaced people seeking refuge there,” Lal K said.

“It’s really difficult for agencies to respond in this situation.”

In separate comments, UNICEF said an estimated 17,000 children in Gaza were unaccompanied or separated from their families during the conflict. The conflict began on October 7 following an attack by Hamas gunmen in southern Israel.

Nearly all children in the enclave were deemed to be in need of mental health support, the report said.

Jonathan Crickx, UNICEF Communications Director for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said: “They are showing symptoms such as persistent extreme anxiety and loss of appetite. They are unable to sleep, have emotional outbursts, or start to panic every time they hear an explosion. Will panic.”

“Before this war, UNICEF had already considered that half a million children in Gaza were in need of mental health and psychosocial support. Today, we estimate that almost all children are in need of this support and that the number exceeds 1 million children .”

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