(NewsNation) — Hundreds of thousands of Israelis and Palestinians have been displaced since fighting between the groups broke out Saturday, leaving some in temporary shelters and others with nowhere to turn.
In Gaza, about 263,934 people — more than a tenth of its population — have been displaced, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Mass displacement born of protection concerns and damage to civilian property has also been observed in Israel, according to the United Nations.
When tensions between Israel and Hamas reached a crescendo Saturday, Israel was home to about 30,000 asylum-seekers who had fled other war-torn areas — the majority having escaped genocide in Sudan, according to the nonprofit Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS). It’s unclear where those asylum-seekers will go or how they will get there.
“I don’t know whether there’s a possibility of them switching their asylum case to a third country, whether it would be the new state or the United States,” said Laurie Brand, a professor emerita of political science and international relations and Middle East Studies at the University of Southern California. “Our own immigration and asylum policies are broken at this point.”
In Israel, tens of thousands of people in the southern region have been evacuated since Sunday, according to the most recent figures reported by the Associated Press.
Israelis may be able to find safety in other parts of the country or, if they have dual citizenship, arrange to travel elsewhere, Brand said.
“For people who are keen to leave Israel, there are places in Israel where people can retreat to for a short period of time … This is gradually going to turn into just an assault on Gaza, so the military threat inside Israel recedes each day,” Brand said.
Transportation from within the Gaza Strip is more complicated.
Of the displaced Palestinians in Gaza, 175,486 are seeking shelter in United Nations Relief and Works Agency schools. But bombed border crossings and cut-off access points have left some with no way out, Brand said.
“The movement out of Gaza has been highly restricted,” Brand said. “If you’re in a situation like this, where the natural response of people is to flee to a safe area, all Gazans can do is try and go somewhere where they don’t expect bombing to take place but which is also in the Gaza Strip.”
Those with the means to leave might feel compelled to stay regardless.
“They’re very much aware of the fact that if there should be the opportunity for them to exit, there’s absolutely no guarantee, and there’s every reason to believe, in fact, that the Israelis would prevent or make extremely difficult any kind of return,” Brand said.
As for coming to the United States, some Israelis have struggled to secure visas while U.S. embassies are closed. Meanwhile, a visa-free program available to Israelis isn’t set to launch until Nov. 30.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials told NBC News there are no plans to introduce the program sooner.
Reached by email Wednesday, a DHS official told NewsNation, “The United States supports safe passage for civilians wishing to leave Gaza to do so. We continue to provide support to Palestinian refugees through the UN, including UNRWA. The United States also has a worldwide refugee resettlement program in partnership with UNHCR.”