The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) revealed, on Monday, that about 360,000 Palestinians have fled Rafah since the Israeli army early last week asked residents of the eastern neighborhoods of the city to leave it, after weeks of threatening to launch a ground operation that the Hebrew state confirms is necessary. To eliminate the "last stronghold" of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians continue to flee the Rafah areas by various means available: on foot, by vehicles, on bicycles or on buggies, in an attempt to find refuge in other places in the Strip, most of whose areas have been reduced to rubble as a result of the longest war in the history of the conflict.

UNRWA said in a post on the social media platforms Facebook and X, “Nearly 360,000 people have fled Rafah since the first Israeli evacuation order was issued a week ago.”

She added that the bombings and other evacuation orders in northern Gaza led to further displacement and fear among thousands of families, stressing that “there is no safe place in Gaza to go, no safety without a ceasefire.”

The UN agency described Israel’s restriction of aid access to Gaza as a “matter of life and death” for the people of the Strip, in light of the ongoing bombing and food insecurity.

She continued, "We are in immediate and urgent need for safe passage for humanitarian aid and its workers."

The residents of Gaza are suffering from a severe shortage of food and vegetables as a result of Israel's continued closure of the Rafah and Kerem Abu Salem crossings, which threatens the return of the specter of "famine" to the Strip.

The crisis of humanitarian aid and fuel supplies entering the Gaza Strip worsened after Israeli tanks stormed some parts of the city and took control of the border crossing with Egypt as of last Tuesday, ignoring American and European warnings about the fate of civilians.

 This comes as Israel closed the Kerem Abu Salem commercial crossing on the border with Gaza on May 5, coinciding with military operations that put many hospitals and medical facilities out of service in all areas of the Strip.

Despite mounting international warnings about expanding military operations in Rafah, the Israeli army, on Saturday morning, called on residents of neighborhoods in the heart of the city to evacuate “immediately,” thereby expanding its operations that began last Monday, east of the city.

On the other hand, the Israeli side announced, on Sunday, the opening of a new crossing in the northern Gaza Strip, called “Erez al-Gharbi,” to transport humanitarian aid to the Strip.

1.5 million Palestinians live in Rafah, most of them in temporary tents after fleeing northern Gaza following the military operations launched by Israel in the northern and central Gaza Strip since last October 7.

Since last October 7, Israel has been waging a war on Gaza that has left more than 113,000 dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and about 10,000 missing amid massive destruction and famine that has claimed the lives of children and the elderly.

The war continues despite the issuance of a resolution by the UN Security Council to stop the fighting immediately, and also despite the International Court of Justice demanding immediate measures to prevent acts of “genocide” and improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.