Rafah crisis: Over a million displaced Palestinians await fate as Israeli army prepares ground operation

Report by Raneem Bou Khzam, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian.

In Rafah today, there are approximately one million and four hundred thousand displaced Palestinians. 

The Israeli army is preparing to start a ground operation towards Rafah, which served as a refuge for the displaced, but what will happen to them?

It is likely that Israel will attempt to relocate them to Al Mawasi area southwest of Gaza, with an area of 14 square kilometers. 

With a simple calculation, dividing the one million four hundred thousand by 14 square kilometers results in 100,000 people per kilometer.

On its own, this number may not mean much, but let us compare it to the global average population density per square kilometer, which is approximately 60 people. This illustrates how impractical this plan is.

Al Mawasi is a region divided between agricultural land and barren sandy areas; part of it is affiliated with Khan Younis, and another part is affiliated with Rafah.

Since Netanyahu announced the request for the Israeli army to develop a plan to evacuate the displaced before the start of the Rafah operation, the focus of the Israeli media has been on this area. 

However, given its limited capacity for the displaced, is it plausible to secure other areas within Khan Younis, which the Israeli army considers to be under its full control?

This is especially true considering that, according to observers, it is nearly impossible to return the displaced to the northern part of the Gaza Strip due to the extensive destruction it has suffered. 

Israel claims to be planning to avoid harming civilians in the Rafah battle, under US request and pressure, while civilians find themselves with Egypt in front of them and the occupied and destroyed Gaza Strip behind them.