The so-called "Nakba" ("Catastrophe" in Arabic) is marked annually on May 15 and commemorates the 1948 exodus, in which an estimated 750,000 Palestinians were expelled or forced to flee their homes due to the actions of Jewish militias in the Arab-Israeli war. These Palestinians and their descendants, who together number about six million people, currently live in 58 refugee camps in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. On the occasion of the "Nakba," Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Mustafa said today in Ramallah that Israeli attempts to displace the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, "will not succeed." Quoted by the Palestinian news agency Wafa, Mustafa described the solidarity protests around the world as a sign that the national rights of the Palestinian people "are inalienable and imprescriptible," as well as a reflection of the "growing support" for the Palestinian cause and the creation of their own state. "This year will be particularly painful, as the West Bank and Gaza face a new 'Nakba' after months of violence and intense bombing and attacks, displacement and destruction," the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said in a statement today. "About half a million people, 20% of the population, have had to leave Rafah in the past week and have moved to the center of Gaza, where infrastructure, food and water are insufficient," it added. In 1948, Israeli forces seized more than 78% of historic Palestine, destroyed about 530 villages and cities and killed about 15,000 Palestinians in more than 70 massacres, the Palestinian news agency Wafa recalled today. The Israelis demolished or settled in Palestinian homes in Jerusalem, Jaffa - the main Palestinian city before 1948 - and other cities. The creation of Israel in May 1948, in part of the territory of the British Mandate of Palestine (1922-1948), led five Arab countries to declare war on the new state. The ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip was triggered by the attack by the Islamist group Hamas on Israeli soil on October 7, 2023, which caused about 1,200 deaths and two hundred hostages, according to the authorities. Since then, Israel has launched an offensive in the Gaza Strip that has caused more than 35,000 deaths, according to Hamas, which has ruled the small Palestinian enclave since 2007. The Israeli retaliation is causing a serious humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with more than 1.1 million people in a "catastrophic hunger situation" that is already claiming victims - "the highest number ever recorded" by the UN in food security studies in the world. Rafah, in the south of the enclave and on the border with Egypt, is the main crossing point for humanitarian aid to Gaza and where more than a million displaced Palestinians from other parts of the territory have taken refuge. Despite international appeals, Israel continues its military action in Rafah, where it says the last active units of the Palestinian extremist group Hamas are located. Read Also: Humanitarian groups accuse Israel of violating international law (Portuguese version)