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Israel Gaza live updates: Gazans begin leaving Rafah after Israel evacuation order - BBC News Israel Gaza live updates: Gazans begin leaving Rafah after Israel evacuation order - BBC News
(32 minutes later)
The safety of hundreds of thousands of children in Rafah will be compromised if Israel goes ahead with a planned offensive in the area, according to a UK charity. Jacqueline Howard
In a statement describing grave concerns for the young in Rafah, Gemma Sherrington, Interim CEO at Save the Children UK, said there was "nowhere safe to go". Live reporter
"These aren't just our words, but those of the foreign secretary, who has repeatedly said how concerned he is about an incursion into Rafah. This is where we find out if that concern adds up to anything at all."
In February, UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said Israel should "stop and think seriously" before taking further action in Rafah. A short while ago, I was in contact with Professor Nick Maynard, a British surgeon volunteering in Gaza.
Sherrington called on the UK to do all that it could to stop the planned incursion, including suspending arms sales to Israel and demanding an immediate ceasefire. As we spoke, bombs began to fall and gunfights kicked off as he approached the Rafah crossing to return to the UK.
“For children in Gaza, this offensive could be the deadliest and most destructive chapter of the conflict yet. They need actions, not words." It began with two strikes, which shot plumes of smoke into the air, before descending into “non-stop bombing surrounding the crossing”, Maynard told me.
There was a lot of uncertainly as to whether he would be able to cross the border at all – at one point, it was thought they would have to turn back.
He told me the Palestinian officials stationed at the crossing were junior and were “as much in the dark as we were” about the bombs falling overhead.
The permission to cross into Egypt came suddenly, he said, and once he was safely across on the Egyptian side, we spoke again.
"I can still hear the bombs, and the bombs are so close that the buildings here are shaking,” he said.
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