“This time, I said that even if I had to die here, I would not leave,” says Iyad Shabir, determined between two shovel blows.
Already displaced ten times, the Gazan refugee sets up a tent at the foot of the border fence with Egypt.
Like millions of Palestinians, he came to Rafah to seek a final refuge, far from the fighting.
But in recent days, the threat of a large-scale Israeli attack has loomed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to continue a “powerful” offensive on the city located in the south of the Gaza Strip.
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An attack feared by part of the international community while the area is home to nearly 1.4 million Palestinians, often displaced by Israeli orders.
“I said it again a few days ago to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an Israeli offensive in Rafah could only lead to an unprecedented humanitarian disaster and would be a turning point in this conflict,” warned French President Emmanuel Macron during a press conference this Friday.
Faced with the threat, some refugees pack up their belongings and try to flee again, often without knowing where to go.
“If I leave here, I will leave as a corpse,” assures Iyad Shabir.
I won't leave here, even if I die.
For what ?
There's no way to leave, where will I go?
".
Others try unsuccessfully to cross the Egyptian border.
“For 100 days, we have been showing up at the crossing point and begging them to let us pass, but they won't even listen to us,” says a young woman at the Rafah border post.