Israeli military orders Palestinians to evacuate from eastern Rafah: Reports
Israeli media outlets are reporting that the Israeli military has begun ordering Palestinians living in neighbourhoods in eastern Rafah – near the perimeter fence with Israel – to evacuate from the area.
Israel’s Army Radio said the order comes before a “military attack” and that the Palestinians are being told to move towards camps for displaced people in Khan Younis and al-Mawasi areas.
Israeli military’s full statement on Rafah evacuation
Here’s what the Israeli military posted on X:
“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.
“In accordance with the approval of the government, an ongoing situation assessment will guide the gradual movement of civilians in the specified areas in eastern Rafah, to the humanitarian area.
“Calls to temporarily move to the humanitarian area will be conveyed through flyers, SMS messages, phone calls and media broadcasts in arabic.
“The IDF will continue pursuing Hamas everywhere in Gaza until all the hostages that they’re holding in captivity are back home.”
Israeli designated evacuation zones are ‘not safe’ for Palestinians
This evacuation order follows what seems to be the failure of ceasefire talks in Cairo, and the insistence of the Israeli prime minister on expanding the ground invasion into Rafah city.
It also comes in the aftermath of the Hamas attack on the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing, and an intense Israeli response, in which they carried out 11 air raids, targeting areas in the eastern parts of Rafah city.
And this seems to be the targeted area now.
Local residents of the eastern parts of Rafah city have been ordered by the Israeli military to evacuate sharply and immediately to the western part, to the evacuation zone al-Mawasi, an area has previously been designated by the Israeli military as a safe zone.
Now it’s important to point out that so far all the evacuation zones designated by the Israeli military have not been safe for the displaced families. In fact, these areas have been constantly under attack, whether in western Khan Younis or here in Rafah, where 1.5 million people are sheltering.
It is also worth pointing out that in the last couple of days, people have started moving on their own volition, because of the lack of progress in the ceasefire talks. They have started packing their stuff up and started moving, but not necessarily to the evacuation zone, because of their mistrust in believing the Israeli narrative.
Israel says ‘around 100,000’ will be evacuated from eastern Rafah
A spokesman for the Israeli military told journalists it is evacuating “around 100,000 people” from eastern Rafah, ahead of an expected ground assault there.
The international community has warned Israel that a military operation in Rafah, where 1.5 million Palestinians are sheltering, would be “catastrophic”.
Israel briefed US on plan to evacuate Palestinians from Rafah: Report
Unnamed US officials told The Associated Press news agency that Israel briefed Biden administration officials this week on a plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians ahead of a potential military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
The officials said the plan detailed by the Israelis did not change the US administration’s view that moving forward with an operation in Rafah would put too many innocent Palestinian civilians at risk. Last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed his concerns regarding the operation, saying “we have not yet seen a plan that gives us confidence that civilians can be effectively protected”.
Regional and members of the international community have also voiced their opposition to Israel’s plans to invade Rafah, which has become the last refuge for Palestinians displaced by the war.
Displaced Palestinian children sit on a dune overlooking their tent camp in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip amid threats of an imminent major Israeli military operation
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