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Israel Gaza live updates: IDF says it controls Gaza side of Rafah crossing - BBC News Israel Gaza live updates: IDF says it controls Gaza side of Rafah crossing - BBC News
(32 minutes later)
Raffi Berg
Sam Rose, the director of planning at UNRWA (the UN agency for Palestinian Refugees) has been telling the BBC about the "desperate" humanitarian situation in Rafah, southern Gaza. Digital Middle East editor
Israel has been directing people in eastern Rafah to expanded "humanitarian areas", but Rose says there's "nowhere" safe for those people to go. Egypt has condemned Israel's operation in Rafah, warning its takeover of the crossing point "threatens the lives of more than a million Palestinians" who depend on it for aid.
The "safe zone" can't fit any more people, he says, adding that one half of the zone is made of sand dunes that "can't accommodate people for any length of time". It also warned Israel not do anything which might jeopardise "strenuous efforts made to reach a sustainable truce".
He says the other half of the safe zone is inside Khan Younis, which he says has experienced "savage bombardment" over the past few weeks. Egypt matters because it is a mediator in attempts to get Israel and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire. Its voice also carries weight due to the fact that Egypt is the most important Arab country with which Israel has a peace agreement.
He says borders and crossing points need to reopen for commodities and food to allow humanitarian agencies to provide support. Egypt is extremely wary of what happens in Gaza. It shares a border with the territory, part of Rafah lies in Egypt, and it controls its side of the Rafah crossing.
Egypt's strong words towards Israel will also be in part for domestic consumption. Ordinary Egyptians feel solidarity with Palestinians - there have been angry protests against Israel since the war began - and the government does not want to be out of step with the street.
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