UNRWA Accuses Israel of Preparing For Mass Displacement of Palestinians from Gaza

Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), said yesterday, Sunday, that Israel is opening the door to forcing the residents of the Gaza Strip to leave en masse.

The Cairo News Channel quoted Lazzarini in press statements in which he said that there is a worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which in turn has resulted in the gathering of civilians fleeing the fighting near the borders in the north and south.

The UN official confirmed that the organization and several countries, including the United States, strongly rejected the idea of forcibly displacing Gazans from the Strip, and believed that the widespread destruction in the northern Gaza Strip and the resulting displacement are considered “the first stage in this scenario.”

These countries point out that the stage the next step might be to force civilians to leave the city of Khan Yunis, further south, near the border.

American and Israeli officials revealed that Egypt had issued warnings to the United States and Israel that if the Palestinians fled to Sinai, this could lead to a “severing of relations” between Cairo and Tel Aviv.