Israel begins bombardment of Rafah despite US threat

UN says fear is turning to terror’ for those trapped in city _

- BEL TREW

Israel’s bombardment of Rafah is advancing toward the denselypopulated centre of the Gaza border city, where UN officials warn that “fear has turned to terror” as trapped civilians try to flee with nowhere to go.

It comes as Israeli government officials hit out at a warning from Joe Biden that the US would not supply the weapons for a fullscale ground assault.

The US president told CNN he was worried about the impact on more than a million people, most of the displaced from other parts of the destroyed strip, who are sheltering in Rafah mostly in tents.

Israeli military did not reply to requests for comment about whether it was advancing further west. But reports from the ground indicate that tanks were moving deeper into the warravaged city, while UN officials told The Independent the ground and buildings were shaking as waves of Israeli strikes edged closer.

“The bombardments are advancing towards the centre of Rafah. I can hear them  it’s very frequent, shaking the building every few minutes,” said Louise Wateridge, from the UN’s Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) from inside Rafah.

“Fear is turning into terror here in western Rafah – there are intensified bombardments creeping in from the east, drones above and navy fire from the sea. People feel trapped and have no clue where to go or what to do.”

Residents in Rafah, meanwhile, have few places to turn, wary of the “safe zones” that Israel has said they should evacuate to, given the bombardment across Gaza. Civilians told The

Independent that there were people who didn’t have enough money to evacuate as fuel was scarce ever since Rafah closed.