KUALA LUMPUR - Having learned from the events of the Nakba in 1948, the spirit of the Palestinian people today remains strong, filled with love for their homeland despite facing attacks from Israeli forces since last October.
A lecturer at Permata Insan College, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Dr Abdel Rahman Ibrahim, said that even with the ongoing Israeli attacks now focusing on the Rafah camp, where displaced Palestinians reside, the Palestinian people continue to stand firm in their homeland.
"In response to the question of where the Palestinians will go after Rafah, I want to correct this perception that the Palestinians are going to Egypt or any other country.
"Most of them return to North Gaza and throughout Gaza, back to their original places, seeing the ruins of their homes. They are experiencing Nakba, have learned from the Nakba 1948 event, and are determined not to repeat the tragedy and not to leave their country."
Rahman said this during the Bernama Radio talk show segment titled "Where to After Rafah?" on Wednesday.
Palestinians use the term "Nakba" or Catastrophe to remember the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes and lands in 1948 following the establishment of Israel.
Discussing the issue of protection, Rahman highlighted the unmet human rights needs of the country's people and called for immediate action from the global community.
"Nevertheless, I am moved by the protests and demonstrations of students from world-renowned universities, most of whom are Generation Z, for bravely voicing the concerns of the Palestinian people," said the analyst.
Recently, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said on Tuesday that over the past three weeks, nearly one million Palestinians have fled from Rafah amid ongoing Israeli incursions into the city.
In a statement on social media platform X, UNRWA said the residents are leaving Rafah en masse despite having "no safe place to go amid bombings, and a shortage of food and water.”
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, also via X, condemned Israel's deadly airstrike near Rafah, saying: "There is no safe place in Gaza. This horror must stop." - BERNAMA