UN relief chief warns against spillover of Palestinians from Rafah into Egypt
Such a development would be 'nightmare,' says Martin Griffiths
Palestinian families who fled their homes due to the Israeli attacks and took refuge in Rafah city of Gaza are viewed in the makeshift tents they stayed in, on February 15, 2024. ( Abed Rahim Khatib - Anadolu Agency )
GENEVA
United Nations Relief Chief Martin Griffiths warned Thursday against a spillover of Palestinians stuck in Rafah into Egypt if Israel launches a military operation against the southern Gaza city.
Over a million people are currently living as refugees in Rafah, said Griffiths, the under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, at a meeting in Geneva.
They had fled Israeli airstrikes and took refuge in tent camps, he noted, saying it would be a "nightmare" if they were forced to cross into Egypt in case of an Israeli attack on the city.
The idea of evacuating Gazans to a safe place is an illusion, he said.
Richard Kozul-Wright, Director of the Globalization and Development Strategies Division of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), suggested that reconstructing Gaza would require a new "Marshall Plan."
He noted that the damage in Gaza was already four times that endured in the enclave during the seven-week Israeli war on Gaza in 2014.
Kozul-Wright estimated Gaza’s post-war reconstruction at $20 billion, based on current satellite images and other information.
*Writing by Nur Asena Erturk in Ankara
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