UN official: We will not take part in forced evacuation from Rafah

The United Nations will not take part in the forced evacuation of Palestinians from the city of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip, according to the UN emergency aid organization OCHA.

Israel has proposed the construction of extensive tent cities for the population to be evacuated further north of Rafah, according to a US media report citing Egyptian officials,

“We have not had any official communication from the Israeli government on this,” OCHA spokesman Jens Laerke told dpa on Tuesday.

“In any case, we will not be part of any plan to forcibly move people. We would not provide tent cities elsewhere so that Israeli forces can then forcibly move people.”

Israel’s government has called on UN organizations working in the region to help evacuate civilians from Rafah ahead of a planned offensive.