The last point of refuge for Palestinians fleeing from Israel’s relentless siege of Gaza is collapsing under the weight of tens of thousands of people seeking food and shelter, stirring fears of a potential mass displacement into Egypt, United Nations officials warned on Sunday.
Pressure is mounting in the area near Gaza’s southern border with Egypt, Rafah, where many Palestinians have tried to escape Israel’s military campaign against Hamas, only to find more death, hunger and desperation.
“Where should I go? Tell me, where should I go?” said Raif Naji Abu Lubda, 39, a farmer who fled to the border area with his wife and six children.
The family is now sleeping on the ground in the cold and cannot find food or even salty water to drink, he said.
Still, Mr. Abu Lubda said, he would rather “go home and die there” than be forced into Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula — a scenario that Egypt and other Arab governments in any event have flatly rejected, fearing that if large numbers of Palestinians leave Gaza, Israel won’t allow them to return.
Speaking at a conference in Qatar on Sunday, Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, said that Israel’s military campaign amounted to “a systematic effort to empty Gaza of its people.”
“There is no effective protection of civilians in Gaza,” Mr. Guterres said. “I expect public order to completely break down soon, and an even worse situation could unfold.”
Gaza’s border crossing with Egypt became critical after Israel imposed a siege on the territory in response to the attack carried out by Hamas, which runs Gaza.