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Rafah drowning in tears as Palestinians bid farewell to loved ones for survival

People mourn a victim at a hospital in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on Dec 26, 2023. [Xinhua]

Abu Shamala had no choice but to return to live with her uncle's family in a makeshift tent located in Mawasi Rafah, in the southern region of the Strip.

"I don't want to stay here. I want to be with my mother in Egypt. I miss my mother very much," she said before tears welled up in her eyes.

Every day, the sad parting scenes reoccur at the Rafah crossing as numerous Palestinians depart the Strip, fleeing the looming threat of death that has persisted in the region for the past six months.

The Rafah crossing is what separates life and death for the people in Gaza, said Mohammed Al-Shaer, a Palestinian from Gaza City.

"I do not support what Hamas did on October 7 (2023), but why must we always pay the price of political crises? We want to live, we want to survive, and we want to travel," grumbled the 25-year-old young man.

Israel launched a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 were taken hostage.

According to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, the Israeli army has killed 32,975 and injured 75,577 Palestinians as of Wednesday in its military operations in the enclave.