![Displaced Palestinians are seen around the European Hospital in Khan Yunis, Gaza on December 31, 2023 [Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/AA-20240101-33327645-33327637-DISPLACED_PALESTINIANS_TAKE_SHELTER_IN_THE_EUROPEAN_HOSPITAL_IN_GAZA-scaled-e1704359009195.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
One million displaced Palestinians have arrived in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah since 7 October, a Palestinian official in Gaza told Anadolu yesterday.
“The total number of people present in the city of Rafah at the moment is not less than 1.3 million, with the city’s population being around 300,000,” said Ahmed Al-Soufi, the head of Rafah municipality.
Some 713,000 have taken shelter at UNRWA facilities, including those displaced outside the premises of the centres but registered with the UN agency, he added.
A further 268,000 are sleeping in public squares and streets.
Since the beginning of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, 85 per cent of the Strip’s population has been displaced, some numerous times. Israel has forcibly displaced civilians, saying their areas will come under bombardment, however it has also bombed areas it has deemed ‘safe zones’ for civilians to live in.
According to authorities in Gaza, 22,313 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s bombing campaign and a further 57,296 have been wounded, the vast majority of children and women.