The situation in the north of the Gaza Strip resembles a 'dystopian horror film' and has recently worsened, according to the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). During a recent visit, Jan Egeland drove through "endless areas with completely destroyed houses." Despite this, people are still holding on there, he told Germany's Zeit Online news website.
Aid deliveries are often looted, said Egeland, who witnessed this himself at the Kerem Shalom border crossing near the town of Rafah in the south of the coastal zone. "Maybe 100 men were standing there with sticks, waiting to stop the trucks coming behind us and jump on them," he said.
Published on Saturday, Egeland's comments come as Israeli forces press home their offensive against the Hamas in Gaza. In Rafah and in the refugee districts of Jabaliya and Beit Lahia in the north, a number of fighters have been killed, positions destroyed and weapons caches dug up, military officials said. According to Palestinian reports, at least 35 people have been killed since Friday. The information provided by both sides could not initially be independently verified. — dpa
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