Palestinians fleeing Rafah say there's no place to go
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STORY: As Israeli forces mass on the outskirts of Rafah, fleeing Palestinians say they're already struggling to find a place to stay. Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza is crammed with people who have fled in recent days. Amani Al Fayoumi is among those who can't find anywhere to set up camp. “We have been sleeping in the cold for four days, and there is no place to set up our tent. Where will all the displaced people go? The situation is very difficult and we cannot find a place to set up our tents." Sumaya Shaaban and her children have been sat by the road for three days. What little aid there is doesn't reach them. "We are without life's necessities. We take water from the sea for our children. There are no bathrooms. There is no food. There is no side supporting us.” Israeli tanks seized the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on Tuesday (May 7), cutting off a vital aid route and forcing at least 80,000 people to flee the city this week, according to the United Nations. That could just be the beginning. Residents fear Israeli strikes on Rafah, the biggest urban area in Gaza not yet overrun by Israeli ground forces, are a sign an invasion is imminent. The city is a refuge for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled combat farther north. Like many Gazans, the Al-Kafarna family have been displaced several times during the conflict and are now on the move again, this time from Rafah to the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, where they've been told, once again, they'll be safe. Laila Al-Kafarna: "We keep moving from one place to another. This child was born during the war, what did he do wrong? He was born in Rafah - there are no clothes, what did these children do wrong, what can we say?" Israel says it must hit Rafah to defeat thousands of Hamas fighters it says are holed up there. The United Nations, Gaza residents and aid groups say an Israeli invasion of the city will result in a humanitarian catastrophe.
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