Rafah residents forced to leave their homes
In an exclusive report, Al-Monitor witnessed the evacuation of Palestinians from their homes in Rafah.
RAFAH, Egypt — Residents living along the border with the Gaza Strip were seen evacuating their homes, after the Egyptian government ordered them out, giving a 48-hour ultimatum. This decision by the authorities aims at establishing a buffer zone.
Although army forces increased the number of checkpoints along the road leading to Rafah in a bid to bottleneck the movement of journalists, Al-Monitor — after great difficulty — arrived in the border area.
About 200 meters (a tenth of a mile) from the stone wall separating Rafah on its Egyptian and Palestinian side lie hundreds of houses, awaiting demolition. Thousands of residents rushed to collect their belongings amid threats of their homes being demolished with them in it, should they refuse to leave.
Abu Karim al-Qumbuz sits on top of a truck loaded with hastily packed pieces of luggage. While holding his baby and playfully tossing him in the air, he told Al-Monitor, “It is not important if we die, as long as they live. It is not important, my son, as long as the homeland survives.”
