100,000 civilians ordered to evacuate Rafah ahead of expected Israeli assault
Israel’s army has told Palestinians to begin evacuating the eastern part of Rafah, signalling that a ground invasion of the refugee-packed city in Gaza may be imminent.
Civilians were told to move to nearby Al-Mawasi, an Israeli-declared humanitarian area near the coast, according to a statement by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) on Monday. It said it had expanded assistance there.
In an update on X, the IDF said: “The IDF has expanded the humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi to accommodate the increased levels of aid flowing into Gaza. This expanded humanitarian area includes field hospitals, tents and increased amounts of food, water, medication and additional supplies.”
Flyers, SMS messages, phone calls and media broadcasts in Arabic would be used to urge people to temporarily move to the humanitarian zone, the IDF said.
It added: “The IDF will continue pursuing Hamas everywhere in Gaza until all the hostages that they’re holding in captivity are back home.”
Witnesses told Reuters new agency that some Palestinian families began leaving areas of east Rafah on Monday. More than a million displaced people are sheltering in the city, located on the Gaza Strip’s border with Egypt.
In a statement on Monday, Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant said military action in Rafah was required due to Hamas’s refusal of mediated proposal for a Gaza truce under which it would free some hostages taken on 7 October.
Israel’s military said the evacuation is part of a “limited scope” operation. It said it was not going to put a timeframe on the evacuation but would make “operational assessments”.
On Sunday, Mr Gallant claimed Hamas was not serious about a deal and warned of “a powerful operation in the very near future in Rafah”.
His comments came after Hamas attacked Israel’s main crossing point Sunday for delivering assistance, killing three soldiers.
A military expert warned any operation by the Israelis should cause tremendous concern. Dr H A Hellyer, senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies in London, told i earlier this year that an offensive in Rafah is “likely to precede a mass-casualty event, or to put it more bluntly, a massacre”.
This is a breaking story and is being updated.
Additional reporting by agencies.
