News - Middle East: The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees says nearly 450,000 people have been forcibly displaced from the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip since Israel launched an incursion there last week.

In a post on the social platform X on Tuesday, UNRWA said “Empty streets in Rafah as families continue to flee in search of safety. People face constant exhaustion, hunger and fear. Nowhere is safe. An immediate ceasefire is the only hope.”

The agency pointed out that "bombing operations and other evacuation orders in northern Gaza have led to further displacement and fear among thousands of families."

It emphasized that "restricting access to humanitarian aid is a matter of life or death for people in the Gaza Strip, who are already suffering from continuous bombing and food insecurity."

UNRWA stressed "the urgent need for a safe passage for humanitarian aid and its workers."

Israeli forces continue to close the Rafah border crossings and the Karam Abu Salem commercial crossing in the southern Gaza Strip, amid warnings of an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.