Rafah once was a refuge from the war. Now Gazans don’t know where to go

livemint.com:

As Israeli military fliers rained down on eastern Rafah warning residents to evacuate ahead of a military operation early this week, Kareem Jouda and his family resolved to stay put even as their neighbors fled. They felt they had nowhere to go. The bombing changed their minds.

The 28-year-old lawyer and his family left Thursday, joining a mass movement out of Rafah. The United Nations estimates over 100,000 people have fled. The chaotic movement of so many civilians carries big risks for Israel’s relationship with the U.S., its most important ally.

The Biden administration has repeatedly expressed concerns about a military operation in Rafah, citing the difficulty of moving civilians out of harm’s way in such a crowded urban environment. In its clearest rebuke of Israel’s plans, the administration said this week it has halted a shipment of bombs to Israel, hoping to get it to rethink the operation as it masses tanks and troops on the outskirts of Rafah. Israel has said its incursion into the Rafah area has been surgical and precise.

Even so, it has hit more than 100 targets over the past few days with airstrikes, artillery and tank fire, seized the key crossing to Egypt and effectively cut the city in half along a main road. In eastern Rafah, residents are leaving, even though the prices of tents, gasoline and rides have soared. The nearby evacuation zone of Al-Mawasi, a barren stretch of beach lacking any basic infrastructure, has filled up.

Jouda and his family were the last in their neighborhood to head out. He said they couldn’t find space in Al-Mawasi, so they paid a driver $800 to drive them farther north to Nuseirat, where they have a house. “I’m not sure we made the right decision, but no one really knows what