Palestinians brace for Rafah evacuation

Trapped in and around Rafah, more than 1 million Palestinians braced for Israel to complete a plan to evacuate them and launch a ground assault against Hamas fighters in the southern Gaza city.

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Aid agencies warned that large numbers of civilians could die in the Israeli offensive, and the UN Palestinian refugee agency said it did not know how long it could work “in such a high risk operation.”

“There is a sense of growing anxiety, growing panic in Rafah,” said Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UNRWA agency. “People have no idea where to go.”