A RAFAH civilian has described the chaotic moment Israel started bombing Rafah, explaining that his family barely made it out in time.
Alhasan Swairjo – who works for Oxfam – was one of 1.4 million people sheltering in the southern city of Rafah amid Israel’s brutal war on Gaza.
But then his neighbourhood was one of those given evacuation orders by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) on Monday morning.
“The problem was, just after 30 minutes of the evacuation order, heavy strikes and bombing started to hit the area,” Swairjo explained.
READ MORE: 18-month-old baby killed by ‘single gunshot to head' in Gaza
He said that what followed was “crazy”.
“All the people there were very scared, running in the streets. Kids were crying. Women were screaming.”
Swairjo and his family struggled to find transportation amid the chaos.
“We hardly managed to leave the area,” he added.
Israel’s military confirmed last night it had launched “targeted strikes against Hamas” in Rafah after the country’s war cabinet approved a military operation there.
Hours earlier, the Hamas militant group announced it had accepted a ceasefire proposal brought forward by mediators Egypt and Qatar.
A ceasefire could end seven months of war in Gaza — however, it is uncertain whether a deal will be sealed, as Israel responded by saying the proposal did not meet its “core demands”.
An Israeli tank brigade has also seized control of the Gaza Strip side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt – the main route for aid entering the besieged enclave and exit for those able to flee into Egypt.
The UN humanitarian aid agency said that Israeli authorities have since denied it access to the crossing.
“Rafah is in the crosshairs,” said Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, at a regular briefing in Geneva.
“IDF is ignoring all warnings about what this could mean for civilians and for the humanitarian operation across the Gaza Strip,” he added.
“I think it’s fair to say that the reports that we get from colleagues on the ground is that panic and despair has taken hold: People are terrified.”
He also said 76% of the territory of Gaza is “under evacuation orders” and people in Rafah have not been given adequate time to abide by evacuation orders.
The National previously reported on Swairjo in December, after he and his three children were evacuated from the area around Al-Shifa hospital and first told to head towards Rafah.
He described their journey at the time as a “ghost walk” with many dead bodies on the ground.
He added: “I asked my kids not to stare at the bodies and to never look back. The journey was a nightmare.”
Now, they are being directed to tent cities in Khan Younis and al-Mawasi.
“I hope you will keep trying to stop this war,” Swairjo said.
“I hope you will keep trying to support us to stop the terrifying of Gaza’s men, women and children.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here